Lowry is usually described as a finished place. The former air base was rebuilt as a planned neighborhood between 1998 and 2009, and the last phase at Boulevard One wrapped up in 2022. Anyone touring homes there this fall is looking at a street grid, park system and housing mix that were all settled years ago.
The edges are a different matter. In the past four months, three large non-residential pieces on or near Lowry's perimeter have opened up. A state college system has put a 145-acre campus out to developers. A private firm has filed a concept to replace an office building with apartments. And the neighborhood's main shopping center is working through a vacancy problem with a new leasing team. Each site belongs to a different owner and runs on its own schedule. For a buyer weighing Lowry against other east Denver neighborhoods, that schedule matters more than any single price figure.
Three Owners, Three Timelines
| Site | Size | Owner or buyer | Status as of October 2026 | Next known date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowry Campus, Quebec Street corridor | 145 acres | Colorado Community College System | Developer solicitation open | Proposals due Nov. 16, 2026; about 136 acres available by end of 2028 |
| 7901 E. Lowry Blvd. | 8 acres | Schnitzer West, under contract as of June 2026 | Apartment concept submitted to Denver planning, as of June 2026 | None reported |
| Lowry Town Center, 200 Quebec St. | Retail center opened 2002 | Kimco Realty | 31% vacant in late 2025; new brokerage team engaged, per a March 2026 report | None reported |
All three sites sit on the side of Lowry that faces Quebec Street. The biggest of them, by a wide margin, is also the slowest.
The Campus Has a 2028 Date Before Anything Can Move
The Colorado Community College System's Lowry Campus covers 145 acres along the Quebec Street corridor. Twenty-eight of those acres are in Denver and 117 are in Aurora. The Community College of Aurora and the Community College of Denver both hold classes there now. The campus has 18 primary buildings totaling about 566,000 square feet, and some of them could be suitable for adaptive reuse.
The process is starting now, but the land won't be free for more than two years:
- Sept. 10, 2026. CCCS issued RFP 27-005, "Lowry Campus Redevelopment," seeking a developer or team for a cohesive, phased mixed-use project. JLL is advising.
- Nov. 16, 2026, 5 p.m. Proposals are due, about six weeks from today.
- Selection. No public date yet. The full solicitation is limited to registered bidders, so preferred uses, any housing or open-space requirements, and phasing details aren't public.
- End of 2028. About 136 acres become available once CCCS moves its uses off-site or consolidates them on the remaining nine acres.
Aurora has been waiting on this site for a while. In May 2024, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman called for CCCS to sell the property. At the time, the system said it was reviewing options that included redevelopment. After the solicitation came out this September, he put its scale in context for BusinessDen:
"This would be the second largest redevelopment project in the history of our city, the largest being the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, which closed in 1996."
The comparison is useful. Lowry itself was a closed military base that took more than a decade to rebuild. The campus next door is the next large piece of that same former base, and it's starting the same kind of process from the beginning.
Who Pays for Pipes Laid in the 1940s
The campus has a hidden cost that explains why the process is long. According to the Denver Post's report on the announcement, the site's water, wastewater and stormwater systems date to the 1940s and will need to be upgraded. The developer will be responsible for infrastructure work, including utility connections and road reconstruction.
The announcement also names two public financing tools that could help cover those costs: tax increment financing and metro districts. Both are ways to pay for public improvements through the new development's own finances, as opposed to an upfront public grant. The public documents don't yet say whether either one will be used, or over what boundary.
This shapes the timeline in a practical way. A developer who has to rebuild utilities and streets before anything goes vertical will need its financing in place first, and it can't do much until CCCS vacates. The 2028 date marks when the land frees up. It isn't a start date for construction, and nothing published so far gives a groundbreaking year.
An Office Lot Inside Lowry Is Moving Faster
The second site sits inside Denver and is much smaller. In June 2026, BusinessDen reported that Schnitzer West was under contract to buy 7901 E. Lowry Blvd. That 8-acre site holds a four-story office building and a parking garage surrounded by asphalt. In its submission to Denver's planning department, the firm outlined nearly 300 apartments across five buildings of three to four stories, with the office building torn down. The same report describes this as the firm's second redevelopment of a slice of Lowry in 30 years.
As of that report it was a concept, with no closed sale, approval or construction date. Even so, it's further along than the campus. It has a single buyer, a building count and a height range, and it's already in front of the city.
The Town Center Sits Between Them
Between those two sites is Lowry Town Center at 200 Quebec St. It opened in 2002 on former base land and has been owned by Kimco Realty since Kimco's 2021 merger with Weingarten. In March 2026, Westword cited Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer's office putting the center's vacancy at 31% in late 2025. Petite Gateaux and Smashburger both left in 2025. Kimco said it had engaged a new brokerage team to strengthen the tenant mix. It also said some of the vacancy came from existing tenants such as Timbuk Toys and Kismet moving into smaller spaces. Sawyer had asked Kimco for a plan to reinvest in the public spaces, and the March report gave no schedule for one.
The neighborhood group is involved. On Aug. 3, 2026, Lowry United Neighborhoods said it was working with the Lowry Business Alliance, the Lowry Community Master Association, Kimco and local businesses, and asked residents to send in ideas. That post asked for ideas and did not report any results.
The center is far from empty. Kimco's current store directory lists, among others:
- Walter's303 Pizzeria & Publik House
- Savory Spice Shop
- Baekga Korean Kitchen
- Delectable Egg
- Timbuk Toys
- Club Pilates and Orangetheory Fitness
- Lowry Liquors
There's also new activity just off the center. The former Soiled Dove building at 7401 E. 1st Ave. reopened this summer as Rising Phoenix, a restaurant upstairs, with The Dove Underground music venue below. The grand opening was Aug. 15. The venue's calendar lists The Long Run on Oct. 17 and Lavender Jones on Oct. 24.
What These Timelines Mean for a Lowry Address
Put the three sites together and the pattern for a buyer is clear. Lowry's housing is settled, while the land on its Quebec-facing edge is not. Change is coming in a set order. The office-to-apartment concept could move first because it's already with the city. The Town Center's direction depends on leasing decisions, and none of the reporting gives it a deadline. The campus, the largest piece by far, can't free up most of its acreage before the end of 2028, and its uses and phasing aren't public yet.
A buyer looking at a specific Lowry home can check it against these sites with a few questions:
- How close is the home to Quebec Street, 7901 E. Lowry Blvd. or 200 Quebec St.?
- Are the daily errands for this home tied to the Town Center, to Hangar 2 or to East 1st Avenue?
- Does the expected ownership period run past 2028, when the campus land becomes available?
- Has a developer been selected for the campus, and has the city posted anything on the 7901 E. Lowry Blvd. concept since June?
The last question has a short-term answer worth watching. The Nov. 16 proposal deadline is the first date on this calendar.
A Few Common Questions
Is the whole Lowry Campus in Denver? No. Of its 145 acres, 28 are in Denver and 117 are in Aurora, so most of the land would go through Aurora's process.
Do we know what will be built on the campus? Not yet. The solicitation asks for a phased mixed-use redevelopment, but its detailed requirements are limited to registered bidders.
Is the 7901 E. Lowry Blvd. apartment project approved? The June 2026 report described no approval. At that point it was a concept submitted to Denver's planning department by a buyer under contract.
Will the colleges leave Lowry entirely? CCCS plans to move its uses off-site or consolidate them on nine acres it keeps.
If you're comparing Lowry homes and want to know how a particular block sits relative to the campus, the office site and the Town Center, Linkow Baltimore Team can walk through it with you, street by street. If you already own in Lowry and wonder how these timelines might affect your home's value, start with a free home valuation and we'll add what we know about the edge sites to the numbers.
