Stanley Marketplace hit its 10th anniversary this year, and there’s more going on there than just cake. A long-running creek restoration project just wrapped up new trails right outside its doors, and the property itself is under new ownership. If you live near Stanley or send friends there regularly, here’s what’s actually changed.
Ten years in a former aviation plant
Stanley opened in 2016 inside a building with a much different original purpose. Stanley Aviation started as a 75,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in 1954 and expanded to 140,000 square feet within a few years, producing aerospace components before the site eventually sat vacant. What’s there now is a food-and-retail hub with more than 50 locally owned businesses — restaurants, shops, fitness studios, creative spaces, and family activities under one roof.
A new creek runs beside it
The bigger physical change is Westerly Creek. Crews relocated an industrial canal about 1,000 feet west of Stanley and rebuilt it as a meandering natural creek, running from Montview Boulevard to 26th Avenue. The $14 million project — funded by the City of Aurora, Mile High Flood District, Adams County’s open space sales tax, and Stanley itself — added:
•Walking and biking trails alongside the water
•A water filtration pond with native grasses and plants
•Two new pedestrian and cyclist bridges
•About 75 additional parking spaces
•A turf area built for movies, concerts, and sports events
Construction took more than a year, with the work closest to Stanley substantially finished by Memorial Day and irrigation and pond work near Montview continuing through the summer. Crews hit a few surprises along the way — old debris and contamination from the site’s aviation and ejection-seat-testing history, along with concrete foundation blocks nobody expected to find. Stanley’s general manager, Jonathan Alpert, framed the finished project as room to grow: “We’ll continue to expand outdoor recreation activities that complement the marketplace.”
Where it sits
Stanley Marketplace sits at 2501 Dallas Street in Aurora, right along the Denver-Aurora line near Denver’s Central Park neighborhood — close enough that it functions as a de facto amenity for Park Hill, Central Park, and Lowry residents even though it’s technically across the city border. That cross-boundary location is part of why the Westerly Creek project matters beyond Aurora: the new trail connects into a broader network that Denver residents already use to get around on foot or by bike.
What this means if you’re nearby
None of this changes what makes Stanley worth a visit today — the new trail along Westerly Creek is genuinely a nice addition if you’re already in the neighborhood for lunch or a Saturday event. But if you’re weighing a home near Stanley Marketplace specifically because of what it brings to the area, it’s worth knowing that ownership is in transition.
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