AURORA | Already the third largest city in the state with nearly 350,000 residents, Aurora is likely to surpass Denver’s population by the last quarter of this century, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said Wednesday.
“Aurora now compares to places like Honolulu, Minneapolis, and Cleveland,” he said in his annual State of the City speech that was held at the Crown Plaza near Denver International Airport. He used his time at the lectern to emphasize that Aurora was no longer a suburb of Denver. Hogan added that Aurora has surpassed cities like Orlando and Pittsburgh in population — even hinting that it might be time to start considering a pro football team.
Hogan pointed to the increase in the city’s building permits as just one of the signs that businesses in Aurora are doing well. He also cited a recent No. 1 ranking for professional opportunities by the financial news site Wallet Hub, and pointed to the city’s emerging industries that includes Dry Dock Brewing, Niagara Water and United Natural Foods.
He thanked Wendy Mitchell and the Aurora Economic Development Council for bringing 30 new businesses to the city, and emphasized that AEDC’s Gaylord Rockies Hotel will be completed despite ongoing lawsuits that seek to undo the project.
“There will be a Gaylord Hotel in Aurora, and it will help to transform the tourist industry in Colorado,” he said.
In his speech, he pointed to Aurora’s efforts to expand its transportation infrastructure to accommodate its growing population, including the completion of Aurora’s 10.5-mile light rail line that is set to open in 2016, and the transit-oriented development that will occur around its eight stations.
“In three years, the entire metropolitan region will connect to Aurora, and this city and its denizens will use that connection to grow up before our very eyes,” he said.
He lauded city council’s efforts to extend East Sixth Avenue east from Buckley Air Force Base to E-470. “It’s not only time, it is what’s necessary and what it will take to protect the future of Buckley Air Force Base and open up the northeast part of Aurora for development,” he said.
Hogan emphasized the growth in Aurora’s bioscience district with Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority set to break ground on Bioscience 2 as part of a research initiative with University of Colorado. Hogan said more than 21,000 people work on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
“The 578-acre campus, half built out, already contributes $6 billion annually to the state’s economy. That is more than the entire Colorado ski industry,” he said.
Hogan did not shy away from mentioning the embattled replacement VA Medical Center that’s already hundreds of millions of dollars over budget that is set to open in coming years on the campus.
“The hospital will be completed — sometime — and hopefully sooner rather than later. How’s that for a sign of optimism?” he said.
As a longtime proponent of Aurora moving from a council-manager system to a strong mayor form of government, Hogan said the hardest part of his job “was working alongside the City Council to prioritize the needs of the city, balancing those needs with the means in which we have to work.”