A decade after a group of Central Park residents first imagined a place where neighbors could gather under one roof, Stanley Marketplace is preparing for a major transition: new ownership.

The northwest Aurora marketplace and community center is under contract for sale, and the buyer has been identified by a source close to the sale as Magnetic Capital, a privately held real estate investment and development company headquartered in Denver.

On its website, Magnetic lists other investment projects in Denver in Cherry Creek and Lower Downtown.

An email to Magnetic Capital asking for comment was not returned as of noon.

Magnetic Capital is led by managing partners Daniel Huml and Chris Carroll. In March, Magnetic Capital and a Florida company bought two buildings along Broadway from architect Curtis Fentress for $12.75 million and announced plans to build a 280-unit apartment project at the site, the Denver Business Journal reported.
Among the company’s other recent projects, F1 Arcade, a bar-restaurant-entertainment complex in the River North district, opened in a building that Magnetic bought in 2024, news outlet BusinessDen reported.

The marketplace is currently owned by Stanley JV, a joint venture partnership between Flightline Ventures and Westfield Company. The transaction will likely take several months to complete.

In an email to Front Porch, Jonathan Alpert, partner at Westfield Company, said the current owners are excited about the opportunity and believe the new ownership is the “right fit to steward Stanley into its next chapter. We’re confident in their vision and execution as they lead the marketplace into its second decade and feel strongly that this is the right step for the business owners here and the broader community.”

For now, Stanley will remain open and operate as usual while the community and the market’s business owners wait for more news about what’s ahead.

An email from Alpert was sent to tenants Monday morning, stating that as part of the due diligence process of the deal over the coming weeks, tenants will be doing interviews with the prospective buyer and verification of lease details.

Alpert told tenants that there’s a lot of work ahead before closing, but he wanted to communicate with the businesses that have shaped Stanley over the past 10 years.

Meanwhile events and programming around the 10-year anniversary are being planned for the summer, and the Westerly Creek Water Project is soon to be completed.

The $14 million Westerly Creek project, which has been underway for more than a year, moved the industrial-looking canal 1,000 feet west of the market and transformed it into a meandering creek.

The overall project, stretching from Montview Boulevard to 26th Avenue, is designed to improve stormwater management, enhance water quality, and add new walking and biking trails. It was funded by the City of Aurora, the Mile High Flood District, Adams County open space sales tax, and the Stanley.

At the end of May, the project will be nearly complete, allowing the City of Aurora to officially hand over the area west of the shopping center to the current owners, expanding outdoor recreation activities.  https://frontporchne.com/completion-of-westerly-creek-project-opens-new-chapter-for-stanley-marketplace/

The market project began as an idea formed by Central Park residents, Mark Shaker, Lorin Ting and Megan Von Wal, who wanted a community space where families could gather. They formed Flightline Ventures, and in 2013, the group pitched the idea at a meeting of their registered neighborhood organization. An Aurora city official saw the Front Porch article about the meeting and brought the article to co-workers.

The city was interested in the project for development in northwest Aurora and showed Flightline the Stanley Aviation building, 140,000 square feet of space, on 22 acres of land. https://frontporchne.com/a-ne-hub-for-neighbors-businesses/

Flightline bought the property in 2014 and reached out to the development company Westfield, which had experience managing large properties. In 2016, Flightline and Westfield formed a joint venture called Stanley JV and established a 50/50 partnership for Stanley Marketplace.

 

Businesses have come and gone over time, and many have been there since the 2016 opening, with some owners opening more than one space, including Caroline Glover, David Lewis, and Robert and Charlene Thai.

Every tenant signs the “Stanifesto,” a document outlining the philosophy of Stanley that emphasizes improving the community, uniting the residents, and caring for other people.

Whether new ownership preserves that vision may become one of the central questions for businesses, customers, and residents who helped turn an old aviation factory into one of Aurora’s most recognizable gathering spaces.