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Centennial, Colorado

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City of Centennial, Colorado
Home Rule Municipality
Centennial Civic Center located on East Arapahoe Road
Centennial Civic Center located on East Arapahoe Road
Official seal of City of Centennial, Colorado
Seal
Motto: 
Spirit of the Past
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyArapahoe County[1]
Incorporated2001
Government
 • TypeHome Rule Municipality[1]
 • MayorCathy Noon
Area
 • Home Rule Municipality27.9 sq mi (72.0 km2)
Elevation
[2]
5,830 ft (1,777 m)
Population
 (2010)[3]
 • Home Rule Municipality100,377
 • Estimate 
(2013)[4]
106,114
 • RankUS: 268th
 • Density3,600/sq mi (1,400/km2)
 • Urban
2,374,203 (US: 18th)
 • Metro
2,697,476 (US: 21st)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP Codes[5]
80015-80016, 80111-80112, 80121-80122,
80161 (PO Box)
Area code(s)Both 303 and 720
INCITS place code0812815
Websitewww.centennialco.gov
10th most populous municipality in Colorado

The City of Centennial is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 100,377 at the 2010 United States Census. Centennial is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Centennial is the tenth most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its 2001 city incorporation was the largest in U.S. history. Centennial is ranked as the 15th safest[7] city in the country.

History

The City of Centennial was formed on February 7, 2001, from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Castlewood and Southglenn census-designated places (CDPs). The citizens of the area had voted to incorporate on September 12, 2000, choosing Centennial as the official name during the vote. The name reflects Colorado's admission to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.[8] The state of Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State".[8]

Incorporation was approved by 77% of the voters, and the population of the area at over 100,000 made it the largest incorporation in U.S. history as of its creation. The city was incorporated in large part to prevent further annexations of unincorporated areas by the city of Greenwood Village in an attempt to improve its tax base. The taxes generated from businesses in unincorporated portions of Arapahoe County funded the majority of the county's services, including road work. A number of court cases eventually established the right of incorporation to take precedence over the right of annexation.

The city was incorporated on a promise to keep city taxes at 1%. (One of the campaigns against incorporation appealed to voters to maintain the 3.8% sales tax of the unincorporated county.) According to the City of Centennial website, the current sales tax rate is two and a half times the promised rate, at 2.5%.

Since the city is relatively new, some people in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area do not yet recognize the area by the name "Centennial", especially since neighboring Aurora, Englewood and Littleton are the default place names assigned by the United States Postal Service for ZIP codes serving Centennial. Thus, mailing addresses designated as "Aurora", "Englewood" or "Littleton" may actually be located in Centennial. This causes considerable confusion, as Centennial and Englewood do not even share a boundary, while some portions of Centennial are surrounded by Aurora and vice versa.

The city recently held a home rule charter convention where a new charter was adopted. The new charter was approved by voters on June 10, 2008, by a ratio of 2-to-1.[9]

Centennial Airport, formerly Arapahoe County Airport, lies adjacent to Centennial, but is located in unincorporated Arapahoe County. The airport is not named after the city, as it predates the city by over 30 years.

Geography

Centennial covers 27.9 square miles (72 km2). Centennial is roughly divided in half by Interstate 25, with most of its business and entertainment centers lying west of the highway. The city's boundaries are highly irregular and evocative of a gerrymander, particularly the overwhelmingly residential eastern portions of the city, which appear with Foxfield, portions of Aurora, and unincorporated areas as a distorted checkerboard on a map.

Centennial has many hills, gullies and ravines, and its open spaces are usually accompanied by recreational trails and parks, including Dry Creek Dam, DeKoevend Park, the Highline Canal Trail, Willow Creek Trail, as well as Big Dry Creek and Little Dry Creek Trails. Centennial hosts most native wildlife and is a good reflection of Colorado's front range ecosystem. Centennial has seen a boost in coyote populations in recent years, leading to resident education on how to deter coyotes from eating family pets.[10]

Centennial is located at 39°35'47" North, 104°50'38" West (39.5963, -104.8439).[11]

Economy

National CineMedia and United Launch Alliance are among the companies based in Centennial.

Top employers

According to Centennial's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[12] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer
1 OppenheimerFunds
2 Comcast
3 United Launch Alliance
4 US Foods
5 Jones International University
6 United HealthCare
7 South Metro Fire Rescue
8 Saunders Construction
9 U.S. Security Associates
10 National CineMedia

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
2010100,377—
2015 (est.)109,741[13]9.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

Population: 100,377 (2010 Census). There are also 36,200 households in Centennial.

The city is approximately composed of 87.4% White, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% Asian, 2.4% African American, 0.4% Native American, and 0.3% from other races.

The median age is 37.2 years, in comparison to the 35.3 year national average. For every 100 females there are 98 males.

Schools

Most of Centennial is within the territory of the Cherry Creek Public Schools while the western portion of the city in the territory of Littleton Public Schools.[15] Centennial is also served by a few private schools.

Public High Schools

Public Middle Schools

  • Campus Middle School (located outside the city in neighboring Greenwood Village)
  • Euclid Middle School
  • Isaac Newton Middle School
  • Laredo Middle School
  • John Wesley Powell Middle School
  • West Middle School (located outside the city)
  • Horizon Middle School (located outside the city in neighboring Aurora)

Public Elementary Schools - West Centennial

  • Ames Elementary School (closed at the end of 2008/2009 school year)
  • Franklin Elementary School
  • Highland Elementary School
  • Highlands Baptist Academy
  • Hopkins Elementary School
  • Lenski Elementary School
  • Peabody Elementary School
  • Sandburg Elementary School
  • Twain Elementary School
  • Dry Creek Elementary School
  • Heritage Elementary School
  • Homestead Elementary School
  • Walnut Hills Community Elementary School
  • Willow Creek Elementary School
  • Greenwood Elementary School (located outside the city)

Public Elementary Schools - East Centennial

  • Creekside Elementary School
  • Peakview Elementary School
  • Timberline Elementary School
  • Indian Ridge Elementary School
  • Trails West Elementary School
  • Buffalo Trail Elementary School (located outside the city in neighboring Aurora)

Private Elementary and Middle Schools

  • St. Thomas More Parish School
  • Highlands Baptist Academy
  • Shepherd of the Hills Christian School
  • Centennial Christian Academy
  • C.A.R.E. Middle School

Government

The city is governed under the council-manager form of government[16] which limits the power of the city to levy and collect taxes. The city council has eight members. The Mayor and Council Members are all part-time officials who hold other full-time jobs.

City of Centennial Officials
Office Incumbent
Mayor Cathy Noon
Council Members, District I Kathy Turley Candace Moon
Council Members, District II Carrie Penaloza Doris Truhlar
Council Members, District III Ken Lucas Mark Gotto
Council Members, District IV Stephanie Piko CJ Whelan
City Clerk Brenda Madison
City Manager John Danielson

Points of interest

  • International Headquarters for Gamma Phi Beta sorority are located in Centennial. Gamma Phi Beta was the first women's organization to use the term "sorority".
  • On September 10, 2008, it was announced that Centennial had been chosen as the site of the first IKEA store in Colorado.[17] The IKEA Centennial location opened on July 27, 2011. It is the second largest IKEA store in the United States.[18] On October 7, 2011, IKEA Centennial was awarded the Project of the Year by the City of Centennial.[19]

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Centennial include:

Surrounding municipalities

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2007-09-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  4. ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  5. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on September 3, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "2014 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Places". United States Census Bureau. July 1, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  7. ^ 7NEWS - CQ Press Ranks Centennial As 15th Safest City In America - News Story
  8. ^ a b "Profile for Centennial, Colorado, CO". ePodunk. Retrieved 2012-07-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Illescas, Carlos (June 11, 2008). "Centennial goes home rule". Denver Post.
  10. ^ CentennialColorado.com redirects to CentennialCo.gov
  11. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  12. ^ City of Centennial CAFR
  13. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  14. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "City of Centennial Street Map - School Districts." (Archive) City of Centennial. Retrieved on December 13, 2013.
  16. ^ http://www.centennialco.gov/City-Manager/. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |website= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-10. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ IKEA Centennial Home Page - IKEA
  19. ^ http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/business/notes/business-recognized-at-best-of-centennial-dinner/article_d93f8e22-f11c-11e0-9c59-001cc4c002e0.html[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "Amy Barczuk". Boston Breakers. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  21. ^ "Madisen Beaty - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  22. ^ "Missy Franklin". Biography.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  23. ^ "Kevin Gausman". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  24. ^ Associated Press (2010-09-29). "Sheriff: Broncos WR Kenny McKinley Found Dead". NPR. Archived from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved 2016-04-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Cyler Miles". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  26. ^ Goldstein, Richard (2007-11-10). "George Ratterman, Football Star and Sheriff, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-04-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "AnnaSophia Robb - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  28. ^ "Spencer Swalm's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  29. ^ "Jack Tate's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  30. ^ "Ken Tribbett". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
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