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Nestled in the valley below Roxborough’s landmark Red Rocks, the 3,400-acre Douglas County property overlooks beautiful Chatfield State Park. The proposed community will be handcrafted with unique single and multi-family housing options clustered in villages, anchored by a community town center with medical clinics, retail/commercial space, new schools (higher education), and recreational facilities. Dedicated to protecting important wildlife corridors, Sterling Ranch will provide connectivity through hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. The project will utilize cutting-edge water conservation techniques guided by forward thinking water experts and Colorado hydrologists to ensure a renewable water source that is both reliable and less expensive to the homeowner.

This highly sustainable, exceptionally livable community will be loyal to the unique ideals that helped to build the mighty West. Soon, future generations will be able to appreciate what drew frontiersmen and women here in the first place. Sterling Ranch is a unique work in progress. We are continually refining our plans to achieve the best possible outcome for the growth Douglas County anticipates and will benefit from economically, as well as thoughtfully respect the natural landscape of the community.

Sterling Ranch Overview Map

Sterling Ranch Planned Development
Sterling Ranch Open Space And Trails
Sterling Ranch Village
Sterling Ranch Sports Village
Regional Open Space Overview

Overview

Sterling Ranch is a 21st century development in Colorado and will define the New West better than any opportunity in our lifetime. It will shape viable urban development in Douglas County with a rural heritage—beginning with a state-of-the-art water conservation plan based on the latest technology to tap renewable sources, minimize waste and bring agriculture back to our area. Defined by rapidly changing 21st paradigms of sustainability and livability, Sterling Ranch will incorporate Agriburbia, alternative energy, walkability, inter-model transportation and integrated trails linking Roxborough to Louviers and Arrowhead to Chatfield.

Fast Facts:

Sustainability and Livability

Sterling Ranch is a pioneer in how we will build and live in the New West because “sustainability” is the design principle for our community.  Sustainability is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sterling Ranch is a long-term project that will generate construction and permanent jobs, along with substantial tax revenue to help provide necessary services to the Chatfield Valley.  The development will result in a sustainable economic model with retail and offices services for the community and adjacent region.  Our development standards encourage the growing trend toward home-base businesses, capturing the entrepreneurial spirit of the New West.

Lifestyle

The New West retains the rugged personality, and natural beauty of the Old West, but has evolved to suit the lifestyles of today’s Westerners. Sterling Ranch provides plenty of opportunities to ride, run and play in natural settings, along with the sense of community that was once necessary when neighbors survived by working together. At the same time, it offers conveniences of modern life and a community that reflects today’s society and real-world conditions.  From a comprehensive water plan that ensures enough water for all; housing options that meet the needs of today’s buyers, public spaces that bring communities together; schools that teach skills the next generation needs to succeed; and gardens that grow food for our tables--Sterling Ranch creates a vision for the New West.

Housing

Housing options in Sterling Ranch will include apartments, condominiums and townhouses in the town center and mixed-use village centers; narrow-lot cottages, medium and low-density single-family detached houses in traditional neighborhoods; larger and custom homes in the hillside areas, equestrian lots and opportunities for affordable housing.  The proposed housing types will vary greatly, ranging from smaller multi-family units in the low $100,000’s to larger custom homes in excess of $750,000.  About 35% of the house product is priced below $200,000, and another 30% is priced between $200,000 and $300,000

Mixed Density

Our development plan uses the “transect” concept.  The plan is organized around a dense, mixed-use town center, surrounded by tightly knit villages.  In outward concentric patterns, it softens into rural villages with more organic patterns and ends in rural, hillside ranchettes. At the perimeter, the development creates compatibility buffers between Sterling Ranch and our existing neighbors. Density is highest in and around the town center and the flatter areas of the site, and becomes less dense and sparser in areas farther from the town center.  The natural typography and open spaces guide the shape of the development. 

Housing Density

Neighborhoods at Sterling Ranch won’t look like a typical sprawling suburban community, with one house and one fence per acre. Thirty-seven percent is reserved for open space, places for people to walk, bike and ride horses, and for wildlife to live. When built out, density won’t be any higher than many other neighborhoods in the area.  Based on 3,400 acres, the average density of the project is 3.5 per gross acre.  The total residential acres, excluding parks, open space and commercial, is approximately 1,735. This calculates to a net density of 6.9 per acre, which is distributed over the project with a higher density in the town center on the northern end of the project to much lower density on the southern end.

Agriburbia

The forefathers of the West knew their roots.  They understood and respected their family history and natural history.  In the New West, understanding and respecting the natural history of the landscape you live in means knowing where your food comes from. Agriburbia is an innovative and growing design movement that integrates aspects of agrarianism with land development.  It is a new vision for feeding ourselves and for defining how and where we live that means re-thinking how we use land and water, and how and where we grow food.  The land-use and planning concept combines the positive social, cultural, physical, and financial characteristics from urban and rural lifestyles. In Sterling Ranch, Agriburbia will be an alternative low-water landscaping option.   

Mixed Uses

Sterling Ranch is planned as a unique mixed-use community that will provide diverse housing and jobs. The Development Plan provides the framework for the location of Planning Districts, thoroughfares, schools, special districts, regional parks, open preserve and other open spaces. Thirty-seven percent of the project will be set aside for open space, parks and recreation. Other parts of the site will provide an integrated mix of employment, housing, civic, cultural, educational, health, worship, shopping, and entertainment facilities.  

Green Infrastructure

The Sterling Ranch development adheres to the strategic visions and conservation principles of the May 2006 CBNC Green Infrastructure System Report revolving around water, wildlife habitat, recreation and sense of place.  These elements, along with the natural habitat and topography of the site, provide the backbone for the placement of village districts and the open space connections between them.  Dedicated zoning for open space, parks and trails provides the mechanism for a perpetual wildlife corridor, natural habitat and riparian protection, as well as nature restoration opportunities.

Sports Village

A state-of-the-art, destination youth sports village is planned on 100 acres in the northeastern end of Sterling Ranch with lodging designed to attract not only local but regional and national events. Indoor and outdoor flexible facilities and fields will be provided for a variety of popular youth sports, such as soccer and baseball, along with emerging sports, such as lacrosse and field hockey.  Located near the high school, the facilities will be used by students, along with youth teams and families from Sterling Ranch and the surrounding area.  The sports village will be the home of the Colorado Rush soccer organization and Slammers baseball and softball. A recent study conducted by Norris Design on the demand for a sports village found that today’s families are increasingly looking for amenity-rich and meaningful recreation experiences for both children and adult of all ages. 

Services

A robust and diverse economy provides employment opportunities for county residents, as well as the commercial property tax revenue that allows the county or district to provide essential services to citizens.  Services the Sterling Ranch team has committed to providing or working with Douglas County to provide include water, sewer, fire station, public safety, schools and transportation improvements, cultural facilities, and parks and trails.

Civic Facilities

Sterling Ranch’s civic facilities, including schools, libraries, recreation centers, post offices and places of worship, will be located in its neighborhoods and villages.  They will form the heart of neighborhood centers with other complementary uses, such as daycare centers, parks, stores and telecommuting centers.

Schools

Sterling Ranch’s plan for community schools is good news for parents who have been worried about their kids traveling so far outside the neighborhood to school each day.  We have placed schools in the heart of the community, including a high school and middle school. We also hope to partner with our national level sports venue, Colorado State University, 4-H and area corporations in an effort to create magnet schools focused on specific areas of study and worthy of national recognition. Sterling Ranch has been working closely with the Douglas County School District to provide top quality education. The school district provided a very positive referral comment to the county in response to our PD Zoning application, noting that Sterling Ranch has worked hard to establish a strong working relationship with the school administration focusing on the needs of the local community.  

What can you do?

As Douglas County continues to grow, county planners work with developers, community leaders, and the public to determine what proposed projects, like Sterling Ranch, get the green light. There are three Douglas County commissioners who ultimately have the final say, by majority vote, on whether a proposed development gets zoning or rezoning approval. We encourage you to know who these commissioners are and to let them know the importance of the Sterling Ranch development for Douglas County.

Sterling Ranch Planned Development – Rezoning: Project File ZR09-004
For more information or to subscribe for updates from the Douglas County Government: http://www.douglas.co.us/planning/Sterling_Ranch.html