Denver International Airport wants to exchange land north of Pena Boulevard with a landfill operator.
The city-owned airport is asking the Denver City Council to sign off on the deal, which would not involve any cash changing hands.
The deal calls for the airport to give Allied Waste Services of Colorado, a subsidiary of Phoenix-based Republic Services, 25.3 acres between Himalaya Road and E-470. The parcel is in Adams County, on the border of Denver city limits.
In exchange, Republic Services would give the airport 18 acres nearby, on the west side of Tower Road south of the Canopy Airport Parking lot.
A third-party appraiser determined the value of the parcels to be equal, according to a presentation prepared for the City Council.
Republic Services operates a landfill at Tower and 88th Avenue. The land that the airport would transfer is just east of it.
Republic Services wanted to vacate the existing right of way for the portion of Himalaya Road that provides access to the airport’s land, according to city documents. Those discussions led to the proposed deal.
The airport noted that the land it would get from Republic Services, which is undeveloped, is adjacent to DIA’s “2nd Creek Campus District.” That’s one of several portions of airport property that DIA has identified as a natural spot for development.
“The opportunity to exchange relatively remote property for another property on a rapidly developing corridor will create revenue for DEN sooner than otherwise expected,” the presentation to council states.
DIA’s land holdings comprise approximately 34,000 acres, but only 18,000 of that is considered “core aviation land,” where terminals, runways and other facilities already sit or are slated to be added in the future.
The airport has implemented a “rolling request for offers” to build on its “non-aviation” land. Earlier this year, the airport awarded brokerage contracts to three firms, after previously having only one with CBRE.
Full story via BusinessDen
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