Arvada: Going for the gold and a whole lot more.

• Author: Couch, Jan
• Position: City development

A jubilant cry rocked the caravan of covered wagons parked along a bucolic creek a few miles downstream from the serene foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

"Gold," Lewis Ralston shouted. "I've found gold."

Sure enough, on the banks of what would be renamed Ralston Creek, a mini-gold rush ensued, and ambitious folks from far and near sought their fortune near today's intersection of West 57th Avenue and Fenton Street.

Even so, the 1850 gold rush never really panned out, but Ralston's entrepreneurial verve did. Nearly 150 years later, that same independent streak and hardworking zeal characterizes the community that surrounds Ralston Creek. Arvada is the name, and it's home to 98,000 stouthearted residents.

"Arvada has always been populated more strongly with an independent business community," says City Manager Craig Kocian. That entrepreneurial spirit began with pioneer families, many of whom still have descendants in business today.

Call it an intangible asset, but it's the kind of attitude that attracts companies and startup businesses to Arvada every day.

"When new businesses come to town, they catch that spirit," says Kocian.

Commerce and industry may be catching something else from Arvada's agrarian traditions ... A dynamic vision for the 21 st Century.

Even though residents and city officials are just beginning to define Arvada's next 100 years, significant projects are in the works:

* Olde Town Renaissance. Developer Dana Crawford has spent the past 30 years combining her passion for historic preservation with real estate savvy, and probably no one in Colorado has done more for revitalizing Denver's core city, first at Larimer square and more recently in LoDo. No wonder local officials are ecstatic about Crawford's participation in the redevelopment of Arvada's original downtown centered near the intersection of Old Wadsworth Boulevard and Grandview Avenue.

City council is poised to adopt the Olde Town Renaissance master plan, including designs for a major activity hub centered on a new Arvada library. Preservation of many of Arvada's classic structures, including the flour mill, the water tower and several blocks of turn-of-the-century commercial structures, remains a high priority.

* Vauxmont Intermountain Communities. South of Rocky Flats on a mesa overlooking the metro area, a 1,100-acre business park is taking shape that could become Jefferson County's premier multifaceted development, combining high-end, view-driven housing with...