Littleton Chose 1st Street Farms Over 270 Townhomes. Here's What It's Getting Instead

There is a vacant piece of land near Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue that could have become roughly 270 townhomes. Instead, Littleton just made a much different bet on what belongs there.

On June 9, 2026, the Littleton City Council voted 4-3 to approve a public-private partnership with Gastamo Group for 1st Street Farms, a roughly five-acre restaurant, event and recreation development along South Platte Park. The approximately $30 million project includes a large restaurant, event venue, public turf field, trails, gathering areas and open space. Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is involved as a minority investor and promoter, while Gastamo is developing and operating the project.

The close vote wasn't really about whether Littleton could use another restaurant. The more interesting question was whether the city should financially participate in a private development to make sure this particular project happened, especially when the alternative was hundreds of additional homes.

It Wasn't Simply Housing Versus No Housing

The site is part of RiverPark, the larger mixed-use development around Santa Fe and Mineral. The area already includes significant residential development, with hundreds of additional homes planned or under construction nearby. So Littleton wasn't choosing between adding housing and adding none. The question was what should happen on these particular five acres.

According to Littleton's analysis, if 1st Street Farms didn't move forward, the likely alternative was approximately 270 market-rate townhomes. Those homes would generate construction-related revenue and ongoing taxes, but they would also create additional costs for city services.

That's where the city's math gets interesting.

Littleton projected that the residential alternative would create a cumulative net fiscal impact of approximately negative $5.4 million over 30 years. The city concluded that a commercial destination generating sales-tax revenue offered a stronger long-term fiscal return.

That doesn't mean Littleton decided it doesn't need housing. It means the city decided these particular five acres might be more valuable as something that serves all the housing already being built around them.

Littleton Is Putting $2 Million Behind the Decision

This isn't simply a zoning approval where the city signs off and the developer takes all the financial risk. Gastamo told Littleton that land, infrastructure and development costs created a funding gap that made the project difficult to build without public participation.

The final agreement includes a $2 million performance-based city loan, along with tax incentives and some development-fee relief. The loan is funded through business use-tax revenue rather than Littleton's general fund, although that money could otherwise have been used for other city capital projects.

That was one reason the council vote was so close.

Mayor Kyle Schlachter opposed the agreement while making clear that he supported the project itself. His concern was the structure of the city's financial participation. That's a reasonable distinction and part of what makes this more interesting than a routine development approval.

The agreement also includes safeguards. City funds are tied to eligible improvements and construction progress rather than simply being handed to the developer upfront. If the project doesn't move forward as required, Littleton has mechanisms to protect or recover its investment.

The argument, then, isn't whether the $2 million is free money. It isn't. The question is whether the economic activity and public amenities Littleton expects in return justify using city resources to help make the project happen.

What 1st Street Farms Actually Adds

At the center of 1st Street Farms will be a roughly 15,000-square-foot restaurant operated by Gastamo Group, the Colorado hospitality company behind concepts including Park Burger and Homegrown Tap & Dough.

The project also includes a roughly 13,000-square-foot glass-enclosed event venue called the Field House, designed for weddings, concerts, corporate events and community gatherings. Plans call for capacity of roughly 450 guests across its indoor and outdoor spaces.

The public-facing portion is arguably more important to Littleton's decision. Approximately 4.5 acres of the project are planned around green space, a public turf field, walking paths, gathering areas, trail connections into the South Platte Park system and a bike-repair station. The development agreement also provides opportunities for the city and nonprofit organizations to use portions of the property.

A beer garden is contemplated as a later phase, and Gastamo has projected hundreds of jobs associated with the larger development once fully built.

Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026, with an opening currently targeted for 2028.

The Bigger Story Is Santa Fe and Mineral

The Peyton Manning connection will probably generate more headlines than anything else. He's a minority investor and promotional partner, and attaching one of Colorado's most recognizable sports figures to the project certainly won't hurt its visibility.

But the more important story is what's happening around Santa Fe and Mineral.

RiverPark is bringing substantial residential development to the area, while the Mineral light-rail station, South Platte Park and Mary Carter Greenway already give the corridor transportation and recreational infrastructure that many suburban development sites don't have. Adding another 270 townhomes would have created more housing, but it also would have added another residential use to an area already gaining hundreds of homes.

Littleton chose something different for these five acres: a commercial and recreational anchor intended to generate sales-tax revenue while giving the surrounding neighborhood somewhere to actually go.

There are legitimate arguments on both sides. Colorado needs more housing, and using public money to support a private hospitality development deserves scrutiny. Restaurants and event venues aren't guaranteed to meet revenue projections either.

On the other hand, growing communities need more than houses and apartments. They also need restaurants, parks, recreation, employers and places where people can gather. Littleton's own analysis concluded that using this parcel for another 270 homes would cost the city more over the long term than the commercial alternative.

Whether Littleton made the right decision won't really be known until 1st Street Farms has been operating for several years. But the choice itself says something about how the city views this part of Littleton.

Instead of filling every available parcel around Santa Fe and Mineral with more housing, Littleton decided these five acres could potentially be worth more as a destination serving the thousands of people who already live nearby and the hundreds more who are coming.

And the City Council agreed by exactly one vote.

If you're considering a move to Littleton or elsewhere along the Front Range, Premium Apartment Locators works with renters, buyers and people relocating throughout the Denver metro and Northern Colorado. Explore our latest housing resources or contact us for help comparing communities and finding the right home for your next move.