First Creek Park Open Space

56th Avenue & Buckley Road is on the southeast corner of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.  Before DIA was built, you could drive along Buckley all the way along the perimeter of the Arsenal.  Now Buckley is blocked off.  You could park in the parking lot and walk north along the road, but it isn't that exciting.  The traces of an old trailer park are still visible from the air.  Although the RMA is now open to the public, there is no way in from this side.

This property is now designated the "First Creek Park Open Space" (which is it, park or open space?) also known as "First Creek at DEN Open Space".   I find it very interesting because it still has a "Cold War" vibe about it coming from the RMA.  Also, it seems post-industrial, with the asphalt road that you can't drive on anymore and the old trailer park.  This was once part of civilization, but it now has reverted to being wilderness.  And most of all, it is very close to the light rail station at 61st Avenue, and the area around it may be some of the most futuristic in the country, with the Panasonic SmartCity being built there.

Century 21 Raceway

Source: https://www.uer.ca/locations/viewgal.asp?picid=330996

On the southeast corner of Picadilly & Smith Road, you can see the remains of an old raceway called "Century 21 Raceway".  Now it is just empty, but a project called "ProLogis East Gate" will be built there.

See also Abandoned Race Track.

Aurora Airpark

On the southeast corner of I-70 and Monaghan Road is an interesting piece of land.  There is a diagonal slash through it, that looks like a road.  What few people know is that it is an abandoned runway and planes flew out of Aurora Airpark as late as 2004, with an average of 60 takeoff/landings per day.

Note that this was one of FIVE airports in the Aurora area.  The others were Stapleton, Lowry AFB, Buckley, and Front Range Airport.

Titan 1 Missile Silo Complex 724A

Source: http://i.imgur.com/z5aQahH.jpg

This is located near what would be Hampden Ave & Harvest Rd, if those roads were built, which they probably won't be.  I wonder if they will build houses right next to this.  Probably not.  So the whole gigantic area between Gun Club Rd on the east, Powhaton Rd on the west, Yale on the north, and Quincy on the south will probably be set aside as another giant wildlife preserve.  This includes the Lowry Landfill, and the Pronghorn Natural Area.  This is about 4 square miles.

Among its neighbors will be a residential neighborhood/golf course to the north, the former Plains Conservation Center (now an Aurora park) to the east across E-470, and the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds to the south, with the Aurora reservoir further south.

All this massive open space isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it will suck the energy out of city life.  I'm sure there will be some very nice housing developments to the east, but they will be more boring urban sprawl, which again isn't a bad thing, if you are looking for a quiet place to raise kids.  Who in their spare time can investigate the underground abandoned missile complex.