In a 5-1 vote, Louisville City Council approved redevelopment of Redtail Ridge, a 389-acre site that has been vacant for nearly 20 years, paving the way for a relocation of Avista Adventist Hospital, an industrial and medical research park and more than 500,000 square feet of office space.
Nearly half of the land (45%, or 139 acres) will be set aside for public use, including open space, parks, trails and a public safety facility. A separate agreement will need to be negotiated with Boulder County and developer Sterling Bay for 47 acres to be used for open space and agriculture.
A traffic study estimates that the development will bring an additional 21,285 daily vehicle trips; 75% to/from U.S. 36 and Northwest Parkway that abut the parcel to the east and south.
A previous development plan for the area was narrowly approved by city council in September 2021. It was repealed by voters the following year.
Data company StorageTek previously owned 310 acres, which was annexed into Louisville in 1978. ConocoPhillips bought and demolished the roughly 1.6 million-square-foot campus in 2008, petitioning to add an additional80 acres into city limits. They negotiated plans, approved by council in 2010, to guide future development.
Following the 2022 referendum, the rules governing redevelopment of Redtail Ridge reverted back to the 2010 agreement.
Council member Barbara Hamlington was the sole opponent of the project. Councilman Dietrich Hoefner was absent.
Read more Louisville news in this week’s Gov’t Watch