LITTLETON, Colo. — The vacant lot at Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue in Littleton is one of the last large, undeveloped pieces of land in Littleton that could soon be the site of 1st Street Farms.
Football legend, former Bronco, and proud Colorado resident Peyton Manning is partnering with Denver-based Gustamo Group on the project named after, and inspired by, the street he grew up on.
▶️ WATCH: Scripps News Denver's Danielle Kreutter talks with leaders and community members about the partially city-funded project
"We chose to stay in Colorado and raise our kids here because of the people, the natural beauty, and the community and I want to continue to build that community here in Littleton, Colorado," Manning said in a promotional video.
The 1st Street Farms project would include a 14,000-square-foot restaurant, a 13,000-square-foot event venue, 4.35 acres of green space, multi-use trails connecting to South Platte Park and Mary Carter Greenway, and a youth sports turf field that can also be used for markets, festivals, and non-profit events.
"Littleton just has the small town feel and just a real sense of community, real sense of family-oriented community here. I think that's what makes it unique," Manning said in a video supporting the project.
The project has been in the works for the last several years.
"The vision was really a farm-to-table restaurant inspired by these beautiful projects around the world, like Blackberry Farms in Tennessee or Magnolia Farms in Waco, Texas, and just how people have just turned these just amazing stories into beautiful community assets," Gastamo Group CEO Peter Newlin said.
The $28 million project recently got funding support from the City of Littleton to the tune of more than $5.5 million.
Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter voted against the funding agreement but said he is looking forward to the project.
"I just have some concerns with the structure of the agreement, not with the development at all," he said, "I think it's going to be a great benefit overall."
Around $2 million of the city's funding will be given up front to the project and eventually paid back through the sales tax brought in by the project.
Scripps News Denver's South Metro Reporter Danielle Kreutter asked the mayor if any capital improvement projects might need to be put on hold as a result of the project.
"With the $2 million that is being basically loaned to them, that could potentially have been used for other infrastructure capital projects," Schlachter said. "There's nothing that was previously approved or previously planned of that has been put off."
After five years of operations, 100% of sales tax revenue from 1st Street Farms will be retained by the city.
"There's a lot of indirect benefits, such as the over 300 jobs they're going to have, tourism draw, people staying in our hotels, people exploring the rest of Littleton here," he said.
Scripps News Denver spoke with residents walking around Littleton's Main Street. Several hadn't heard of the project taking shape just yet, but the owner of White Oak Boutique said she's looking forward to more potential visitors in the area.
"That would be so much fun. We already have such a cute little downtown and fun parties and stuff on Main Street, but to have another area where people are able to kind of come and hang out and then go back home, it's great," Yvette Littlefield, owner of White Oak Boutique, said.
Newlin said there's a lot of work ahead to secure the rest of the funding and design 1st Street Farms to be a tourist destination as well as a community hub.
"To the food, to all the community components, to really make sure that when people step on this property, they feel like they've been completely taken out of their day-to-day, and magical memories are created here, and stories are told, and hopefully this is kind of the place that people keep coming back to," he said.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2026 and could take around two years to complete.
