Mayor Hogan’s garden party message: Aurora, now bigger than Honolulu, is thriving

AURORA | In front of a crowd of mostly staff with only one Aurora City Council member present, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan delivered an informal garden-party “state of the city” speech at Aurora Municipal Center’s Xeriscape Demonstration Garden Thursday. The Mayor gave a more formal speech on the city in May.  

Hogan, who is running unopposed in this fall’s municipal election for his seat, focused mostly on touting a city that he said has grown to nearly 360,000 residents.

“Aurora is the 54th largest city in the country. We just passed Honolulu,” he said. “We’re the third largest suburb in the country …With nearly 360,000 residents, we are big and we are being noticed.” 

The  atmosphere was light with Studio 1430 KEZW’s Rick Crandall moderating the event. Aurora’s Poet Laureate Jovan Mays read a poem beforehand that reflected on words of wisdom he received from his grandmother throughout his life. 

In his speech, Hogan went on to tout Aurora’s diversity and what the city has done in recent years to acknowledge that by creating a welcome center for immigrants and refugees as well as a new office of international affairs.

“People who live here are from about 140 different countries. I tell people about Aurora and their jaw drops,” he said. 

He talked about the importance of Buckley Air Force Base and emphasized, without giving much detail, that the city would continue to protect Buckley from potential Base Realignment and Closure committee hit lists.

“This base is integral to what happens in the City of Aurora and will stay that way for decades to come,” he said.

He also said the city is booming when it comes to business development.

“Today the city is planning, designing or constructing more than $120 million in capital improvements,” he said. “In last four years, more than 30 companies relocated to Aurora.”

 He pointed to the Anschutz Medical Campus as the city’s most promising cash cow, even though the Aurora replacement veterans hospital being built on the campus has received national attention for its $1 billion price tag, delays and incompetency. 

“The Fitzsimons/Anschutz campus, like Aurora itself, is half built out,” he said. “The University of Colorado, University Hospital, Children’s Hospital. I’m not going to mention the veterans hospital, but someday the veterans hospital. It is a massive complex that today, half built out, puts $6 billion into the Colorado economy. If you want a comparison, that $6 billion is more than the entire Colorado ski industry.” 

He lauded another controversial project, The Gaylord Rockies Hotel and Conference Center, which he said is opening in 2018 despite being mired in litigation.

“All we’re working on is the paperwork,” he said.

Following the speech, a question and answer session was moderated by Crandall. Crandall had compiled questions submitted by residents to the mayor. 

One asked Hogan where he sees the city heading five years from now. Hogan said he saw a more vertically growing city that would develop around the eight new light rail lines set to open mostly along Interstate 225 late next year. He was asked by another resident about how to help solve Aurora’s traffic and congestion, and said the light rail should alleviate that, but that the city needs to come up with creative ways to pay for road improvements in the future.

“We’ve actually had two different ballot issues in the last five years, not to increase taxes, but merely to extend existing taxes. All of the money would have gone into street improvement. Both ballot issues were voted down,” he said. 

 Hogan was also asked during the Q&A session when new development would come to Fan Fare. It has been two years since the blighted bubble building was torn down, and city staff are still searching for a developer to renovate the vacant  site in west-central Aurora.

“I wish I had an answer,” he said. “We need a developer who is more expert in infill development as opposed to development that build around the edges,” he said. 

Throughout the speech, Hogan emphasized that just behind him would be the future site of a memorial garden to remember the victims of the 2012 theater shooting. He said the city is still taking donations to complete the memorial.

To donate, visit https://npo.justgive.org/720Memorial.