Metal Buildings Near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado

Any parcel near the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal needs its soil history checked before steel goes up. The arsenal was built in 1942 on 17,000 acres in Commerce City, listed on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List in 1987, and cleaned up for $2.1 billion with surface work finishing in 2010 and groundwater treatment continuing. We build pre-engineered metal buildings around it, and we start every nearby job by asking what is known about the ground.

That is not a warning against building. It is a reason to sequence the work right. Review the environmental record, confirm any restrictions with the right agency, and then design the foundation. Once that is done, a steel building goes up quickly, and nearby land in the northeast metro suits shops, storage, yards, equipment bays and light industrial space.

We name the load package and the lead time at the first quote, and we keep the site and soil items on their own lines so the building price stays clean.

Where the cleanup leaves limits

The Army will permanently manage about 1,000 acres of the former arsenal containing landfills, waste consolidation areas and groundwater treatment facilities. Those areas are not where a metal building belongs, and nothing in a bid should suggest otherwise. For land outside them, we ask what a title search, a Phase I environmental report and the agencies say about the specific parcel.

If a site requires soil handling plans, health and safety training or monitoring, we follow the plan the owner and consultant set. We do not move suspect soil without direction. Every crew on site is trained for ordinary construction hazards, and we add site-specific requirements when your consultant identifies them.

Ground, groundwater and drainage

Groundwater treatment is still running at the former arsenal, which means groundwater is part of the local story. Shallow groundwater affects excavation, dewatering and the slab. A vapor barrier below the floor is routine on many sites and may be required on others. Your geotechnical engineer will tell you how deep footings go and what the slab needs.

Drainage matters beyond the property line too. Stormwater from a new roof and paved yard has to go somewhere, and detention can take real acreage. We design the building with the drainage plan in view, and we ask your civil engineer to confirm the pad elevation before steel is released.

Permits near a federal site

The land around the arsenal sits mostly in Commerce City, which adopts its own building code, so your permit comes from the city. The city's published code is the 2021 International Building Code with local amendments, and there is a statewide energy rule too: Colorado HB22-1362 requires any county or municipality that updates a building code on or after July 1, 2023 to adopt an energy code with equivalent or better performance than the 2021 IECC and the state model electric and solar ready code. We confirm the edition at application.

Federal land and the wildlife refuge boundary are separate matters from city permits. If your parcel touches them or shares an access road, get written direction from the managing agency. Our Commerce City page covers the code details for the surrounding industrial land.

Due diligence, then steel

Step one, the record: title, environmental reports, geotechnical report, survey. Step two, design: foundation, building, drainage. Step three, steel and pad together. Step four, erection and close-in. If any step turns up a surprise, we stop and reprice. We would rather change the plan on paper than in the field.

Owners sometimes want to buy steel early to lock a price. We understand the wish, but a frame ordered before the soils work is done can be the wrong frame. A pause of a few weeks for reports costs less than a redesign. See anchor bolts and foundations for how we tie the building to the ground.

Who builds here and why

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge covers 15,988 acres, was formally opened April 2, 2004, and has its only entrance in Commerce City. The nearby Suncor refinery in Commerce City, formed from two former refineries on either side of Brighton Boulevard, has a capacity of 98,000 barrels per day. Between a refuge and a refinery sits a mix of industrial yards, storage, truck services and fabrication, and those users need dry, durable buildings.

Metal fits those users: fast erection, clear spans and rugged panels. We build maintenance shops, equipment storage, contractor yards and light industrial bays. Neighbors farther north, such as Brighton, offer more open land, and the nearby industrial districts of north Denver offer denser lots. We compare them if you are not tied to one location.

Agency and utility buildings

Public agencies, utilities and contractors who work near the refuge sometimes need field offices, storage and maintenance buildings. We build those too, with attention to site rules, access and visitor traffic. Our municipal and public works page shows typical plans.

For owners who are not sure what they need, the pre-engineered metal buildings page explains the system, and our structural steel erection page covers how crews set the frame. We can price a simple version of your building while due diligence is still running, so you know whether the project works before you commit money to reports and design.

Price a building near the arsenal

Send the parcel number, the use and any environmental or geotechnical reports. We will name the load package and lead time and keep soil and site costs on separate lines.