Lone Tree is a special place – from the way it has been carefully planned and designed, with safe, beautiful environments, to its great shopping, entertainment and amenities, to its convenient location and options for getting around. What you probably didn’t know is that Lone Tree also looks special from space – using Google maps. In fact, that is exactly how a team of city planners from Calgary, Canada discovered Lone Tree.   

While surfing Google maps, the Calgary team discovered that, not only is Lone Tree located directly along the region’s light rail system, but the City has planned and built a community that is walkable, shoppable, and provides a mix of housing types and employment opportunities all within walking distance from one another.  To learn more about the City of Lone Tree, a team of twenty-five planners from Calgary decided to take a field trip to meet with City staff and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to take a tour and learn more about how Lone Tree collaborated with RidgeGate to design a world-class mixed-use city. 

In meeting planners from a different country, Lone Tree staff had an opportunity to learn about how our sister metropolis to the north is planning and designing for growth, as well as hear a different perspective on what makes Lone Tree unique. In speaking about Lone Tree’s development history, staff had an opportunity to see Lone Tree through another planner’s lens and to appreciate the community’s design with a refreshed perspective.  

For example, did you know that the trail and open space system between RidgeGate Circle and Lincoln Avenue was designed to integrate stormwater management into the open space system and that Belvedere Park is designed to accommodate storm overflows? Or that the Schwab campus has a community amphitheater space? Or that Lone Tree’s diverse housing options include (either existing or currently under construction): 2,975 single family homes, 792 townhomes, 330 condos, 3,898 apartments, 434 senior living units (offering a variety of independent, assisted and memory care living options), and 28 supportive (and affordable) housing units to serve the future Tall Tales Ranch community? Of those homes, over 230 of them are produced by Koelbel Homes for community members seeking more affordable housing options. In addition to Koelbel, Lone Tree’s housing diversity is provided by a variety of homebuilders including, but not limited to, Shea, Lokal, Thrive, Infinity, and Century. 

As we welcome the new year in Lone Tree, the City’s Community Development team is grateful for the opportunity to continue serving this great community and guiding its growth, consistent with the community’s vision. Not only does our community provide exceptional services and amenities, but we are also recognized for exceptional community development and urban design, and that is something to celebrate and talk about. In the coming editions of Timberlines, we want to bring you community development updates that matter to you – do you want to know about where Lone Tree is growing, what projects are in the development pipeline, or learn about revitalization efforts? We’d love to hear from you – drop our team a message at planning@cityoflonetree.com.