Not yet decided. Wheat Ridge’s preferred site for a new City Hall and police building is the former Lutheran hospital campus, and Issue 2A on the November 3, 2026 ballot would help pay for it, but the land deal and final costs still need City Council approval.
The old Lutheran Medical Center campus between West 32nd and West 38th Avenues is one of the largest redevelopment sites in Wheat Ridge, and one of the questions we hear most about it is whether City Hall is moving there. The short version is that the city has been working toward it for almost a year, and the next big step is on the November 3 ballot.
Two things are happening at once. The developer, E5X, is clearing the site for a new neighborhood, and the city is negotiating to place a civic building on part of it, paid for in part by a proposed sales tax.
Jason Sirois, a Realtor with FORM at Compass Denver and a Wheat Ridge resident, walks through where the City Hall plan stands, what has been decided, what has not, and what it means for homes near the campus. This post explains the plan and the ballot question. It does not take a position on how to vote.
Is Wheat Ridge City Hall moving to the Lutheran campus?
The city’s stated plan is yes, if the pieces come together. On its WR Moment page, the City of Wheat Ridge lists a “City Services and Public Safety Facility,” a new City Hall and police facility with community gathering space, and says it is planned for the Lutheran Legacy Campus.
The same page is careful about what is not settled. The city says it will validate costs and build a financing strategy before any funding decision, and that no final construction decision has been made. In other words, the site is the city’s preferred location, not a signed project.
The preferred concept would keep two historic campus buildings, the 1921 Pavilion and the 1932 Women’s Wing, and reuse them alongside new construction.
Why does Wheat Ridge want a new City Hall?
The city says its current City Hall and police buildings are more than 50 years old and in poor to fair condition. Mayor Korey Stites told CBS Colorado in August that the facilities were built in the 1970s and that city staff are spread across different buildings instead of working under one roof. The police department, which operates from 7500 W. 29th Ave., has grown from about 60 sworn officers in the 1970s to more than 90 today, according to the city.
The Lutheran site came into the picture because large parcels in the middle of Wheat Ridge rarely come up. Stites described the campus to Denver7 as a one-time opportunity. A city facilities master plan from 2023 had already flagged the aging buildings, so the hospital’s move to Clear Creek Crossing opened a site at roughly the moment the city was looking for one.
What is the land swap, and has it been approved?
In December 2025, shortly after E5X closed on the campus, City Council gave consensus to keep negotiating a land exchange with the developer. Consensus is direction to staff, not a vote to approve a deal. Reporting from that meeting described a 180-day due diligence period, possible extensions for environmental review, and terms that would let either side unwind the exchange if conditions are not met. Final terms are set to come back to council as separate decisions.
In April 2026, BusinessDen reported the outline under discussion: the existing City Hall property would go to E5X in exchange for a parcel of about 4.5 acres on the campus along West 38th Avenue. We have not seen a final, approved exchange agreement published, so treat the parcel size and swap terms as the proposal on the table rather than a done deal.
How does Issue 2A on the November 3 ballot fit in?
Wheat Ridge Issue 2A asks voters to raise the city sales and use tax by one cent, from 3.5% to 4.5%, starting January 1, 2027. The money is tied to a list of capital projects, and the new civic building is one of them. We covered the full measure in What is the Wheat Ridge 1-cent sales tax on the November 2026 ballot?
| Project on the city’s 2A list | What the city says it covers |
|---|---|
| City Services and Public Safety Facility | New City Hall and police facility on the Lutheran Legacy Campus |
| Parks and Public Works Maintenance Facility | One larger facility to replace outdated operations space |
| Street and infrastructure maintenance | Dedicated capital funding for roads and sidewalks |
| Pedestrian and bike connectivity | Filling gaps in sidewalks, trails and bike routes |
| Anderson Outdoor Pool | Replacement, estimated at $12 million to $17 million |
| Former Kullerstrand and Wilmore-Davis schools | Keeping the fields and park space in public use |
Source: City of Wheat Ridge, WR Moment page, October 2026. CBS Colorado reported the city’s estimate of more than $11.5 million in the first full year of collections. The city has not published a construction cost for the civic building itself.
The city has not said what it would do about City Hall if 2A does not pass, so we won’t guess. What is clear is that the ballot result is a key input, alongside the land exchange terms and the cost review, before anything is built.
When would a new City Hall be built?
There is no construction date. On the city’s Legacy Campus project page, last updated October 15, 2026, deconstruction is nearly finished, site grading is starting for roads, sidewalks and utilities, and no vertical construction is expected on the campus in 2026. Residential development applications are expected later in 2026 and into 2027.
- October 2021: City adopts the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan
- November 2024: Voters approve Question 2C, setting campus height limits in the city charter
- 2025: Council approves the MU-LLC zoning for the campus
- December 2025: E5X closes on the campus; council gives consensus to keep negotiating the land exchange
- January 2026: Council approves the concept plan for the whole site
- February 2026: Deconstruction begins
- November 3, 2026: Voters decide Issue 2A
For the bigger picture on the roughly 100-acre campus, including the planned homes, parks and open space, see What is being built on the old Lutheran Medical Center campus in Wheat Ridge?
What would it mean for homes near the campus and near the current City Hall?
For streets around the campus, a civic building would add a public use to the mix of homes, retail and open space already planned. The campus zoning caps buildings at 30 feet along the perimeter and 70 feet in the interior, and requires 20% of the property as public open space, so the scale near existing houses is set by those rules whatever ends up on the site.
For the area around 29th Avenue, the open question is the future of the current municipal property if the exchange goes through. No plan for that site has been published. If you own near either location, the city’s council agendas are where the land exchange terms and any site plans will appear first.
If you are weighing a purchase or sale near the campus, or want to see how nearby sales have moved, our Wheat Ridge community page is a good place to start, and Jason Sirois and the FORM Team at Compass Denver are glad to walk through specific streets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wheat Ridge City Hall moving?
The city’s plan is to build a new City Hall and police facility on the former Lutheran hospital campus, but it has not made a final construction decision. The land exchange, costs and funding still need to be settled.
Where is the old Lutheran hospital in Wheat Ridge?
The former Lutheran Medical Center campus sits between West 32nd and West 38th Avenues in central Wheat Ridge. Intermountain Health moved the hospital to Clear Creek Crossing in 2024, and the old campus is being redeveloped as the Lutheran Legacy Campus.
Does Issue 2A pay for a new Wheat Ridge City Hall?
The city lists a new City Hall and police facility among the projects 2A would fund, along with street maintenance, bike and pedestrian improvements, the Anderson Pool replacement and the former school sites. Read the official ballot text for the legal wording.
Has the Wheat Ridge land swap with E5X been approved?
Not as far as published records show. Council gave consensus in December 2025 to keep negotiating, and final terms are set to return to council for separate decisions. BusinessDen reported a proposed swap of the current City Hall property for about 4.5 acres along 38th Avenue.
When will the new Wheat Ridge City Hall open?
No date has been set. The city says it will validate costs and set a financing strategy first, and no vertical construction is expected on the campus in 2026.
This article is general information based on City of Wheat Ridge materials and news reports available as of October 28, 2026. It is not legal, tax or voting advice, and FORM at Compass does not take a position on ballot measures. Plans for the civic facility and the land exchange may change; confirm current details with the City of Wheat Ridge.
