Clear Creek Crossing was laid out to draw most of its traffic from Interstate 70 ramps at Clear Creek Drive and from West 40th Avenue rather than from West 32nd Avenue. No public count yet shows how much its hospital, apartments and new restaurants have added to 32nd Avenue near Applewood West.
Applewood West is the unincorporated Jefferson County neighborhood south of West 32nd Avenue and west of Youngfield Street, with Golden mailing addresses and streets like Alkire, Braun and West 24th Place. Clear Creek Crossing is its closest large neighbor, a development of roughly 110 acres in Wheat Ridge on the southwest side of the I-70 and Highway 58 interchange.
For most of the last decade that land was a construction site. Today it holds a hospital, apartments, hotels, a fitness club and, as of this fall, a new restaurant and park district called The Lookout. That has made a common question from Applewood West owners more pressing: is all of this going to load onto 32nd Avenue?
Jason Sirois is a Denver Realtor with FORM at Compass and an Applewood resident. Here is how the site was designed to handle traffic, what is open now, what is still coming and what the public record does and does not say about 32nd Avenue.
How was Clear Creek Crossing designed to handle traffic?
The road plan for this land goes back to the Cabela’s proposal of the mid-2000s. New ramps between I-70 and Highway 58 were completed in December 2008 in anticipation of development. A planned interchange at Cabela Drive, which would have connected Holman Street on the north to West 32nd Avenue at Zinnia Street, was never built after Cabela’s withdrew. When Evergreen Development bought the site in 2016, CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration concluded that interchange was not needed for the expected traffic.
Instead, Clear Creek Crossing was built around direct interstate access. In 2017, the developer told the Colorado Real Estate Journal that new hook ramps off I-70 would “go right into our property,” alongside improvements on West 32nd Avenue. A 2019 Mile High CRE report described the plan in more detail:
- Westbound I-70 hook ramps at Clear Creek Drive, funded by Wheat Ridge’s temporary half-cent sales tax under the 2E ballot measure approved in 2016.
- A flyover bridge connecting the existing westbound I-70 on-ramp at 32nd Avenue to the new Clear Creek Drive on-ramp, merging with the I-70 mainline.
- Retail at 40th Avenue and Clear Creek Drive, inside the site.
The City of Wheat Ridge has since announced that the westbound I-70 on-ramp at Clear Creek Drive is open. The practical effect of the design is that a driver coming from I-70 can reach the hospital, apartments and The Lookout without using 32nd Avenue at all.
What is open at Clear Creek Crossing now?
Most of the site is now built or under construction. The main pieces, with the dates and figures published for each:
| Component | Size or detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital | 226 beds, six stories, 26-acre parcel, on West 40th Ave | Opened Aug. 3, 2024 |
| Outlook Clear Creek apartments, 4040 Clear Creek Dr | 310 units | Completed 2021 |
| Hampton Suites hotel | Not published | Opened September 2025 |
| Home2 Suites by Hilton | 118 rooms | Under construction (July 2026) |
| HashTAG restaurant at The Lookout | Troy Guard’s TAG Restaurant Group | Opened Oct. 15, 2026 |
| Prost Brewing biergarten and Agora at Applewood food hall | At The Lookout | Prost nearing completion; Agora planned (July 2026) |
| Dave & Buster’s | Southeast corner | Withdrawn |
Sources: Neighborhood Gazette (July 2024 and November 2025), Wikipedia, REBusinessOnline (December 2021), Naked Denver (July 2026) and the Denver Gazette (October 2026).
The Neighborhood Gazette’s November 2025 report put the total planned housing at 550 one- and two-bedroom units, with the developer estimating 800 to 1,000 residents on site at full build-out. We have also covered what is open and coming to Clear Creek Crossing in more detail.
Where do the hospital and The Lookout get their traffic?
The hospital is the largest single draw. The Gazette’s July 2024 coverage of the move described the new campus as located at I-70 and West 40th Avenue, with access from I-70, State Highway 93 and US 6. It added a separate five-story medical office building and a six-story parking garage. In that same 2024 coverage, Lutheran was described as Wheat Ridge’s largest employer, with about 1,800 workers and 1,300 medical staff.
The Lookout sits at the southwest corner of I-70 and Highway 58. Naked Denver’s July 2026 update described a central public park with a playground, lawn, fire pits and a small amphitheater, plus a direct connection to the Clear Creek Trail.
What we could not find is a published before-and-after traffic count for West 32nd Avenue between Youngfield and Highway 58, or a post-opening traffic study for the hospital or The Lookout. So any claim about how much 32nd Avenue traffic has changed, up or down, would be a guess. If you want the numbers, the City of Wheat Ridge Public Works department and Jefferson County Transportation and Engineering are the two offices to ask, since the road crosses both jurisdictions.
What could still change traffic on 32nd Avenue?
A few things are worth watching from Applewood West:
- The rest of The Lookout. Prost and the Agora food hall were still being finished as of July 2026, and the park draws its own visitors.
- Remaining parcels. The Gazette reported in late 2025 that only two small parcels would remain if pending deals closed. Dave & Buster’s has since pulled out of its corner.
- Housing. The difference between the 310 apartments built and the 550 units planned means more residential trips could come later.
- Coors land to the north. CDOT’s 2016 decision against the Holman Street interchange assumed Coors would not develop its northern parcels. The site layout keeps that connection possible if that changes.
What does this mean for Applewood West homes?
For most Applewood West streets, the relevant questions are the ones buyers ask on any showing: how long it takes to get onto 32nd Avenue at peak times, how far the nearest signal is and how much noise reaches the backyard. Those vary block by block, and they are best answered by driving the route at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. rather than by a general rule.
Clear Creek Crossing also brings things within a short drive or trail ride that the area did not have a few years ago: a hospital, a fitness club, restaurants and a new park with a trail connection. Owners weighing a sale can point to those as facts about location. For more on the neighborhood, see our Applewood community page and our post on which high school serves Applewood West.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Clear Creek Crossing?
It is in Wheat Ridge on the southwest side of the I-70 and Highway 58 interchange, north of Applewood West. The site covers roughly 110 acres and includes the Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital campus on West 40th Avenue.
Can you get to Clear Creek Crossing directly from I-70?
Yes. Hook ramps at Clear Creek Drive connect the site to westbound I-70, and the City of Wheat Ridge has announced that the westbound on-ramp from Clear Creek Drive is open.
Did Clear Creek Crossing add traffic to 32nd Avenue?
We did not find a published traffic count showing the change. The site was designed to take much of its traffic from I-70 ramps and West 40th Avenue, but no before-and-after count for 32nd Avenue has been released.
When did the new Lutheran hospital open?
Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital opened at Clear Creek Crossing on Aug. 3, 2024, when patients moved from the old 38th Avenue campus. It has 226 beds.
How many apartments are at Clear Creek Crossing?
Outlook Clear Creek, at 4040 Clear Creek Drive, has 310 units and was completed in 2021. The Neighborhood Gazette reported 550 units planned for the site in total.
Is Applewood West part of Wheat Ridge or Golden?
Neither. Applewood West is in unincorporated Jefferson County with a Golden mailing address. Clear Creek Crossing, to the north, is inside the City of Wheat Ridge.
This article is for general information only and reflects published reports as of October 2026. Development plans and road projects can change; check with the City of Wheat Ridge and Jefferson County for current details.
