Stanley Marketplace's First Winter Under New Owners Moves Outside, to the Creek

Camp Christmas will not be back at Stanley Marketplace this year. Chris Carroll said so directly in a Front Porch story dated October 1. He is managing partner at Magnetic Capital, the firm that closed on the building on August 31. Carroll also said the Giving Trees campaign will return in November. Holiday plans for the new outdoor area along Westerly Creek were still being worked out, with outdoor firepits and "exciting things for kids" on the list.

For Central Park households who mark December at 2501 N. Dallas St., that's the headline. The change also shows Stanley's new priorities. The holiday draw used to be a touring art show that came and went. Now the season is being planned around a piece of land that cost $14 million to rebuild, and that land is permanent.

A tradition that kept moving

Camp Christmas never had a permanent home, and its history shows it. Artist Lonnie Hanzon created it with DCPA Off-Center, and its first year at Stanley drew roughly 70,000 people, according to Westword. Here's how its seasons played out after that, as Westword's 2025 preview described them:

1. 2019: A 10,000-square-foot immersive installation inside Stanley Marketplace
2. 2020: An online edition during the pandemic
3. Two seasons: An outdoor camp at Lakewood Heritage Center
4. 2023: Back at Stanley as an indoor-outdoor hybrid
5. 2024: Moved to downtown Dallas, in tents outside the AT&T Performing Arts Center
6. 2025: Returned to Stanley November 21 through December 28, billed as the seventh and most ambitious edition yet

So Stanley hosted the show in three of its seven years. Hanzon talked openly about the Dallas detour. "I'm very, very happy to be home," he told Westword last November. A year later, the building that welcomed him back has new owners with a different plan for the space. Front Porch did not report where Camp Christmas will go in 2026, or whether it will run at all.

What Stanley has now that it didn't have last December

West of the marketplace, along Westerly Creek, sits a space that wasn't open during last year's Camp Christmas. The City of Aurora calls it the Westerly Creek Improvements project. It covers the creek corridor from Montview Boulevard to 26th Avenue and fills in a missing segment of the Westerly Creek regional trail.

The work changed how the land looks. The creek, once a straight channel, now winds through the site, and the project added a water-filtration pond, native plants, and walking and biking trails. Two pedestrian and bike bridges link the creek paths to Stanley itself. Front Porch reported the $14 million cost was split among the City of Aurora, Mile High Flood District, the Adams County open-space sales tax and Stanley Marketplace.

It opened in stages:

• June 19: The first gathering area opened to the public, with two grassy fields and a rock seating area near the playground.
• August: The larger outdoor park area opened after two years of construction.
• Still underway: About 75 more parking spaces, which an earlier Front Porch update projected for late fall.

Aurora's project page still lists a fall 2025 completion date, so the construction coverage from 2026 is the better guide to what's open now. Plan around parking. The extra spaces may not be ready before the holiday crowds arrive.

Why the new owner keeps talking about the creek

Magnetic Capital paid $41 million for the 140,000-square-foot marketplace and the land next to it. Carroll told Front Porch the purchase plan "contemplates zero development." He also pushed back on a published report that the firm planned to add a hotel and apartments, saying that report came from a broker's debt package and not from Magnetic Capital.

He described his focus this way:

"How do we continue to push the envelope in terms of the activation of the community, more foot traffic, higher sales, all the things that are good long-term things for the marketplace and the community?"

Carroll called the creek restoration "very much a part of Stanley's future." He listed festivals, arts, recreational sports, farmers markets and activities for all ages as the uses he wants there. That explains the holiday change. A touring show fills the building for about five weeks and then leaves. The holiday ideas Carroll mentioned, firepits and activities for kids, would use the creek land the owner already holds and plans to program for those other uses too.

The founders saw the sale the same way. Mark Shaker started Flightline Ventures with Lorin Ting and Megan Van Wald, and the company opened Stanley 10 years ago with Westfield Company. "If we're going to Stanley 2.0, we can't bring it there," Shaker told Front Porch. "We have a building that's 10 years old. We need a shot in the arm." He added that the original group didn't have the capital to keep developing in that part of northwest Aurora.

What's actually on Stanley's calendar

The outdoor holiday program doesn't have dates yet. These events are already on Stanley's events page, all at 2501 Dallas St.:

As of this week, Stanley's November and December listings show no building-wide holiday event to replace Camp Christmas. Last year that show ran from November 21 through December 28, so the late-November-to-New-Year's stretch is the open slot the firepits and kids' activities would fill. Giving Trees is the one holiday tradition the new owner has confirmed.

The rest of Central Park's early winter

On the Central Park side of the border, the holiday kickoff has a firm date. The Central Park Master Community Association's Winter Welcome is Friday, November 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 29th Ave Town Center, 7350 E. 29th Ave. Santa photos start at 5 p.m., and the tree lighting is at 6 p.m. The MCA's farmers market finished for the season on Sunday, October 11, with its final market and pumpkin patch at South Green.

Eastbridge also has two new places for a night out compared with last winter. Fire on the Mountain opened in September at 10155 E. 29th Dr. in the former Tag Burger space. Across the plaza, Hida Japanese Skillet & Grill took over the former Cholon space, and its menu includes a long list of vegan and vegetarian options.

Farther north, Avenues at Northfield is in the middle of a renovation that runs through 2027. A Wayfair is expected in the former Macy's at 8298 E. Northfield Blvd. by late 2026, according to the Denver Post. Construction is also underway on a specialty grocery store next to Old Navy. The grocer hadn't confirmed the location or an opening date as of the Post's June report.

For Stanley, the next confirmed date after Halloween is the Día de los Muertos 5K on November 1. Giving Trees follows later in November. Watch the events page for the Westerly Creek holiday plans once Magnetic Capital announces them.

When a nearby landmark changes owners and adds a creekside park, owners nearby often wonder how that affects their home's value. The Stairway Team follows these changes block by block in Central Park and can show you how recent sales near Stanley and Eastbridge stack up against your home. Get Your Free Home Valuation.