"This area north of Clear Creek is starting to be viewed as part of the downtown Golden environment."

Matt Wempe, Golden's principal planner, said that to City Council on Sept. 22. He was making the case for a parking district. Council approved it unanimously that night. Within two weeks, CoorsTek had moved its global headquarters into the first Clayworks building a few blocks away.

Those blocks around the Golden Mill and Parfet Park are becoming downtown in a particular order. First came the paperwork, then the office workers. The things a neighbor would actually walk over for are still on the way, including a plaza, two new street segments and a coffee shop. So for this fall, the area north of the creek has more of downtown's demands than its rewards.

The Map Council Drew on Sept. 22

The North Clear Creek Parking District was created by Resolution 3323. It covers public parking between Ford Street and Washington Avenue, and between Eighth Street and Clear Creek. According to the district documents, the changes are:

• City permit or paid parking along 10th Street, matching the rest of that street
• Two-hour or permit parking on Ninth, Jackson and Water Streets
• 30-minute loading zones at the Golden Mill's Water Street entrance and at the 615 Water St. apartment building
• A dedicated spot for city vehicles at Parfet Park

This wasn't a quick vote. The district was a year in the making. The Mobility & Transportation Advisory Board recommended it in April, and council started its review in June. The Golden Transcript lays out why the blocks are under pressure. They hold the Golden Mill, the 57-unit building at 615 Water St., the Golden Office, the coming Clayworks district, and Parfet Park and Clear Creek, which both draw heavy crowds in warm months. Last summer's tubing season showed how crowded it gets. A June 2025 file photo shows a city flagger on Ford Street near the Golden Mill, stopping cars so tubers could cross.

The new rules don't take effect yet. On Oct. 1, Wempe said staff were still changing signs and amending the city's contract with Interstate Parking Company of Colorado, its parking vendor. Officials planned to meet the following week to start planning the rollout. No start date has been announced. If you park on Ninth, Jackson or Water, the new signs will tell you when it begins.

The Office Workers Arrived First

Clayworks is the reason this pocket now counts as downtown. AC Development is building it on the old Coors ceramics campus. The Pottery, the first building, keeps its historic brick facade and the "Coors U.S.A. Chemical & Scientific Porcelain" sign from the original 1880s operation.

The Denver Business Journal reported on Oct. 2 that CoorsTek has moved its global headquarters there. It described the building as 182,000 square feet, anchoring a 14-acre redevelopment that will include a hotel and multifamily housing. The DBJ also reported that office space in the broader plan has been scaled back. The preview doesn't give the new office total, so the size of the cut isn't public yet.

Accounts of the building's makeup differ. In June, the Denver Gazette described an 80,000-square-foot CoorsTek space and three dining spaces on the main floor. The developer's own FAQ says the building has room for four food and beverage tenants, along with CoorsTek and other office tenants. Four is the developer's number and the more current one.

Built, But Not Yet Open

Clayworks posted a project update in mid-July. Here is what it reported finished and what is still pending as of Oct. 4:

1. The first building. The update said the core and shell were finished and tenant interiors were "in full force." The CoorsTek move confirms it now has occupants.
2. New streets. The update called the new 8th Street extension, from Washington Avenue to Ford Street, and the new block of 9th Street, from Jackson Street to Ford Street, complete. It said both would open to the public "later this summer." Summer has ended, and no published source confirms they're open.
3. The plaza. The update said it was complete and would welcome the public "later this summer when it officially opens." No opening has been confirmed, and no events there have been announced.
4. Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters. It's the only food or beverage tenant named so far. Its locations page lists the Golden café at 800 Ford Street, Suite 102, as "OPENING SOON!" with no date. In June, the Gazette reported an October target and a 2,367-square-foot store.
5. The other food spaces. The developer said leasing was underway and has named no other tenant.
6. The second historic factory building. In July, work was just starting on preparing the structure.

So a resident walking down Ford Street this week will pass an occupied headquarters, a finished but unopened plaza, and a café space with a sign that says soon. Meanwhile, the parking district's two-hour limits could take effect before any of that opens.

Why the Ground Floors Are Going to Food

The Clayworks plan reserves as much as 60,000 square feet for retail across all phases. The developer says most of it will go to food and beverage operators, built and leased alongside future office, hotel and residential buildings.

There's a recent example of why that mix makes sense. In September, Icelantic Skis moved its retail out of 1300 Washington St. after a decade downtown. It now runs everything from 15744 W. 6th Ave., near I-70 and 6th Avenue. Its director of operations, John Douthit, explained the move to BusinessDen: "That retail area was awesome for brand awareness, but no one was walking in there and accidentally walking out with an $800 pair of skis." He said walk-in visitors left "with maybe a candle or a $30 T-shirt." Walk-in traffic in downtown Golden supports small, spur-of-the-moment purchases, and coffee and lunch fit that pattern. Clayworks' first phase is built around them.

The Golden Mill has been working that model on these blocks for years. Its food page lists five concepts: Republik of Chiken, Sushi Sora, Rolling Smoke BBQ, Tacos Al Chile and Happy Cones. Once Sweet Bloom and three more food tenants open at The Pottery, the area north of the creek will have two food clusters a short walk apart. Both will be inside a parking district designed around two-hour stays.

Parfet Park's October Doesn't Wait for Any of It

Parfet Park was already a downtown venue long before the city updated its parking map. It anchored Buffalo Bill Days in July, with craft vendors, food, a beer garden and live music. In February, Goldens in Golden held one of its vendor villages there.

Two events this month fall on these blocks:

• Today, Oct. 4: The Golden Mill's sixth annual Oktoberfest runs from noon to 3 p.m., with Neue Polka, German-inspired food specials and Oktoberfest beers.
• Saturday, Oct. 17: The Golden Beverage Tasting & Chili Cook-Off returns to Parfet Park, at Washington Avenue and 10th Street, from 1 to 4 p.m. It now runs under new management. The Golden Welcome Center, a local nonprofit, presents it with Coors Distributing Company. It's rain or shine, and organizers warn against buying from fake ticket resellers.

The cook-off takes place on 10th Street, which is set for permit or paid parking once the district rolls out. Whether the new signs are up by Oct. 17 depends on a rollout meeting that hadn't happened as of Oct. 1. Ticket holders coming from elsewhere in town should check the posted signs when they arrive.

The House at 612 10th Street

The developer expects to build Clayworks in phases over at least the next eight to 10 years, depending on market demand. The first residential phase has no construction schedule yet. Current plans call for rental apartments only, with no condos or other for-sale units. The developer has committed to the equivalent of 10% of all its residential units as workforce housing, built either on-site or elsewhere in Golden.

The site also has older history. In June, AC Development offered the 1869 house at 612 10th Street to anyone who could move it, at no cost, so it could be relocated and preserved. The house sits within the Clayworks site, one block from Parfet Park, and no published update since June says where it's going.

The north-of-the-creek blocks are changing fast, and a lot of how this plays out over the next decade, from parking demand to which food tenants sign to what follows the first phase, can still shift. If you own near the Golden Mill or Parfet Park and want to understand what Clayworks and the new parking district could mean for your property, Garrett Newell can walk through it with you. Get a free valuation & investment plan.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.