AURORA — About 300 residents from the Heather Gardens senior living community packed the City Council chambers recently to voice their opposition to a new 400-plus-unit apartment complex near a new light-rail station.

One by one, they talked about how it would encroach upon their lives. Too much traffic. No places to park. Renters don’t take care of their properties like home owners do.

In the end, the City Council approved the new transit-oriented development near the Nine Mile station, one that is sure to attract younger crowds. The meeting was a stark contrast for this city of 340,000 about where it has been and where it wants to go.

And for the first time maybe ever, Aurora now has a chance to attract the coveted millennial population with a new light-rail line opening this year, city officials said.

Light-rail lines throughout the country are changing demographics, as cities aim to lure younger, working professionals who want to work, shop, live and play all in the same area — or at least have public transit readily available to access those things.

For Aurora, it is the first time the city has really had anything to attract new young professionals from outside the city, officials acknowledged, compared with Denver, for example, which has many popular hip areas to live, along with transit options.

Aurora is doing what it can to promote the opening of the 10.5-mile light-rail line and the transit-oriented development that will come with it.

Living in the city

The city is placing ads in magazines and on the radio, touting it as being a great place to live for younger, working professionals. Recently, city representatives spent a day at Children’s Hospital Colorado on the sprawling Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, talking to workers there about the benefits of living in the city. Most of the 22,000 people who work or go to school at the campus commute from outside the Aurora city limits.

Aurora wants to change that.

“We are focused on reaching out to millennial professionals,” said city spokeswoman Kim Stuart. “The important thing is talking to people beyond Aurora, which is a new endeavor for us.”

And the main hook to this younger crowd are nine new transit-oriented developments around six light-rail stops. Initially, there are plans for more than 2,300 residential units — mostly rentals — near the light-rail stops, said Aurora planning director Bob Watkins. But that number undoubtedly will grow much higher as more property is secured by developers near those sites.

They will also include shopping, restaurants, bike repair places and other businesses that cater to a more active, younger person.

About 28 percent of those who call Aurora home now can be classified as millennials, those born between 1982 and 2004, according to the city. That’s about 1 percent higher than the average in the Denver area and roughly the same as the state as a whole.

The city of Lone Tree could see similar change. Now largely a bedroom community, Lone Tree already has a light-rail stop at Lincoln Avenue.

In about three years, three more light-rail stops will open in areas that haven’t ever been developed, south of Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree, said community development director Kelly First. This gives the city a unique opportunity to start from scratch, instead of having to use urban renewal powers to tear down and build.

“Huge opportunity”

First said the city met with the developer for initial discussions Wednesday for projects that would be attractive to people of all ages, including empty-nesters looking to downsize.

“It’s a huge opportunity, but it comes with its own set of challenges,” she said. “We’re looking forward to the start.”

One example of millennials who live near light rail is the Denizen project, which opened last summer near the stop on Alameda Avenue in Denver.

Dan Cohen is a developer for D4 Urban, which built the 275-unit complex with apartments and two-story townhomes. He said the project caters to younger professionals and others out of college who don’t need to spend a lot of time at home; instead they want to take advantage of area amenities and quick access to light rail downtown at a relatively affordable price.

Denizen is 90 percent full, he said.

The average age of its residents is 24.

The Denizen project and Aurora are farther from downtown Denver, so rents will be lower, Cohen said. But Aurora is in a unique position, he said, because the light-rail line will connect to the Anschutz Medical Campus, the Denver Tech Center and Denver International Airport.

“Having that connectivity is important,” Cohen said. “For Aurora, they’re going to benefit from the immediate employment opportunity and also the connectivity light rail brings. That was one of the selling points for our project. We’re sort of in a similar situation.”

But while Aurora is targeting millennials, some of the older communities are feeling left out. Bruce Cairns of Heather Gardens, who actively fought the Iliff apartment project, said he and the other residents of the retirement community believe the city is ignoring their needs.

City officials say they aren’t.

But that’s of little consolation to them.

“Totally, we feel that way,” Cairns said. “Just don’t forget about us.”

Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or @cillescasdp