Golden Launches New Era with City Hall, Police Department Groundbreaking

On Wednesday, the City of Golden, Colorado, broke ground on a long-awaited project nearly six years in the making — a new municipal building that will house both city hall and the police department, setting the stage for the next chapter in this historic community’s growth.

The new facility will shift city operations from their current home in the heart of downtown on 10th Street to a fresh site on the city’s east side near the iconic Coors plant. The move is part of a broader vision to evolve the Clear Creek corridor while preserving the city’s small-town character.

For Golden residents like Gerchard Pfau, the milestone is about more than new bricks and mortar. "I was really excited about it because it is, as you put it, the anchor," Pfau told CBS Colorado. "Golden continues to evolve, but the great thing about the city is it preserves."

A Catalyst for East Side Revitalization

City leaders say the new municipal complex will help catalyze redevelopment along an underused stretch on the east end of Golden, bringing fresh energy and opportunities to an area ripe for revitalization.

"This project will start the revitalization of this area of downtown, bring people and more opportunities for the future," said Mayor Laura Weinberg at the groundbreaking ceremony, where city officials, residents and community stakeholders gathered on the patch of dirt that will soon hold the new civic hub.

Relocating the city hall and police headquarters instantly frees up prime real estate along Washington Street and Clear Creek, steps from the city’s busiest corridor and one of its most visited natural attractions.

"When we purchased this property, we launched the Heart of Golden effort; it wasn't just built on this property that's vacant," Mayor Weinberg said. "It's about what's going to happen to the rest of the corridor."

The Heart of Golden’s Next Chapter

The city has yet to decide what to do with the current city hall site but plans to gather ideas from the community on how best to reimagine the high-value property.

"The prevailing thoughts have been more green space, more open space, more access to the creek," Weinberg added. Many residents are eager to see how the site could be transformed to connect even more people to Clear Creek while preserving Golden’s unique blend of historic charm and natural beauty.

The new building is part of a wave of developments reshaping the city’s future, alongside major projects like Clayworks and new initiatives by CoorsTek and the Colorado School of Mines. Taken together, these projects mark the latest step in a tradition of reinvention that has defined Golden for over a century and a half.

"Golden reinvents itself," Weinberg said. "We have for the last 160-plus years."

The new municipal building is expected to take about two years to complete. By then, the city hopes to have plans in place for the old city hall site — keeping Golden’s small-town spirit intact while planning for the needs of the next generation.

Originally reported by Andrew Haubner in CBS News.