Clayworks set to bring big changes to Golden, Colorado with new retail and office space
A new development will replace some old buildings in Golden with new retail and office space, and eventually, apartment buildings surrounding a vibrant gathering place. Clayworks is a multi-million dollar redevelopment project backed by the Coors family.
Demolition on the decades-old industrial buildings began last month to make way for the five city blocks designated for redevelopment. Golden-based AC Development, a division of Coors, is behind Clayworks which is one of the city's biggest development projects in years.
"We think Golden is already an incredible place we just want to add to it and enhance it honestly the industrial facility here was kind of a black hole in what was otherwise a really charming beautiful downtown," said AC Development president Dan Cohen.
"Many of the Coors family members went to school at the historic Golden High School building next door to us, so this is a really important place to the Coors family and it was always really important to the family to develop themselves and own these buildings and occupy these buildings," said Cohen.
The project will be anchored by the new CoorsTek headquarters. According to the Clayworks website, Located on 12+ acres of land owned by the Coors family since 1884, Clayworks gets its name from a legacy of world-class ceramics manufacturing and ingenuity that happened here.
Golden Mayor Lauran Weinberg said the project's size was the biggest concern for the community, "It's going to have an impact just in a lot more people coming and going from that site than we have seen in many many years so that's been the overall concern."
Weinberg said working with the Coors family has eased some of the concerns. As a longstanding community partner, Weinberg said there is a better understanding of Golden's future.
"They know Golden and they know our values and our interests and what we aspire to be as a community in the future, so whether it is sustainability or public art, transit, mobility, or bike access... all of those things we value as a city they also value and are including in their project," said Weinberg.
Learn more about Clayworks online.
