Denver population on a roll in 2006

Stapleton, Lowry credited with spurring growth

Burt Hubbard, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 28, 2007 at midnight

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Denver saw its biggest yearly growth spurt since 2000, while Aurora surpassed the 300,000 population mark last year, the Census Bureau reported today.

A census report also found that the corridor north of Denver remained the fastest-growing part of the state and that the energy boom accelerated population increases in some Western Slope towns.

Denver added about 8,300 residents last year, growing by 1.5 percent to about 567,000 people, the report said.

"Denver is definitely changing on us," state demographer Elizabeth Garner said. "A lot more people are sticking with the city, instead of leaving."

The city grew by 1.3 percent between the 2000 census and 2001. The Census Bureau estimated that during the middle of the decade, the city had slight population declines for three straight years.

Most of the current growth is concentrated around Denver International Airport and the Stapleton and Lowry communities, Denver City Councilman Michael Hancock said.

"We're seeing tremendous growth," said Hancock, who represents the city's northeast sector.

For example, in 2002 nobody lived at the site of the former Stapleton airport. Now, it is home to about 7,500 residents.

"Stapleton is on fire," Hancock said.

Garner said that lower downtown and the Platte Valley are also seeing new residential development.

That growth reflects a desire by many people to live in the central part of the city instead of suburbia, she said.

Denver's growth is not without its problems, Hancock said. The city cannot keep up with the strain on the roads, and some schools are crowded, especially in far northeast Denver.

"There is a huge bulging at the seams," he said.

To the east, Aurora also saw its growth accelerate in 2006, jumping 2.3 percent to become the third Colorado city to surpass 300,000 people. Colorado Springs has more than 372,000 residents.

Almost all of Aurora's growth has been in the far southeast around E-470, where several large, master-planned communities are being developed, said Dan Bartholomew, Aurora's planning data services manager.

Most of the homes are priced on the high end, attracting retiring baby boomers and residents looking to move up in the market, Bartholomew said.

While Denver and Aurora grew, other metro-area cities stagnated or lost population last year. Lakewood's population fell slightly for the sixth straight year. Its population of 140,175 is about 4,100 less than it was in 2000.

Other Jefferson County cities such as Wheat Ridge, Golden and Edgewater also posted small declines last year, the Census Bureau found.

The declines reflect the county's aging population, Garner said.

"It's not like there is this big exodus," she said. "It's just this family of four is now this family of two. The kids have left."

The biggest growth areas last year remained to the far north and south of Denver, the report said. Six of the state's 10 fastest-growing towns were in Weld County and a seventh was just over the border in Larimer County.

Severance, in Weld County, led the state with a growth rate of 31 percent last year. It has more than quadrupled in size to about 2,600 people since 2000.

Town administrator John Holdren said the town is close to Greeley and Fort Collins, but has lower housing prices.

Wellington, about 10 miles east of Fort Collins, is the newest entry in the top 10 list. It grew by 19 percent last year, to about 4,100 people, the second-fastest rate in the state.

The town is attracting young families looking for less expensive alternatives to living in Fort Collins, said Wellington Mayor Larry Noel.

To the south, Castle Rock in Douglas County remained one of the fastest-growing towns. It grew by 11 percent last year, ranking eighth.

Douglas County towns always have attracted residents from the rest of the metro area, but now they also are drawing people from El Paso County to the south, Garner said.

"We still think that area will continue to grow," she said.

Tourism and the energy boom fueled growth in many Western Slope cities.

New Castle and Parachute, along Interstate 70 and near the energy fields, ranked 11th and 12th.

Eagle, west of Vail and Avon, ranked fourth with a 15 percent population hike, as affordable housing drew residents from elsewhere in Eagle County, town planner Bill Gray said.

Now the town of about 4,900 residents actually has a morning and evening rush hour.

"It's bumper to bumper getting into town," Gray said.

hubbardb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5107

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