Denver International Airport has cut a fresh land deal with Republic Services, giving up a 23.3-acre stretch next to the Tower landfill in exchange for a 16.5-acre parcel in Commerce City. Airport officials say the move sheds remote, less-usable land and brings in a more attractive site along the fast-growing Tower Road corridor near the airport.
What the deal included
According to 9News, Denver International Airport transferred 23.3 acres in Adams County to Republic Services and received 16.5 acres at the northeast intersection of Tower Road and the future 80th Avenue in Commerce City. Airport representatives told the outlet that the trade is meant to open up better opportunities for private development on airport land. Officials described the arrangement as a property-for-property swap that followed formal appraisals and coordination between governments.
A trade years in the making
The idea of giving up outlying airport land in order to gain frontage along Tower Road has been circulating publicly for more than a year. As reported by BusinessDen, Denver International Airport brought a similar proposal to city leaders in 2024, with slightly different acreage numbers, and cited a third-party appraisal that found the properties to be of equal value. That earlier proposal appears to have laid the groundwork for the version of the swap that has now been finalized.
Why DEN wants the parcel
Denver International Airport has been trying to speed up development of its non-aviation land by bringing basic infrastructure, including water, sewer, roads and fiber, up to a ready-to-build standard. In a 2025 press release, Denver International Airport described that push as a way to move private projects forward faster and to generate revenue sooner than if it simply held on to more distant acreage. With its Tower Road frontage, the Commerce City parcel that DEN is getting in the swap is considered far more appealing to developers than the isolated tract the airport is giving up.
What Republic Services gains
Republic Services will fold the 23.3-acre tract into its operations beside the existing Tower landfill, increasing the company’s contiguous footprint and adding to its operational buffer. The Tower Landfill’s public site lists the facility at 19260 E. 88th Ave in Commerce City, which confirms that the newly transferred parcel sits alongside the active landfill. Local access and right-of-way changes tied to the swap were part of earlier negotiations, according to reporting on the deal.
Next steps
Airport officials say the trade should make it easier to market and build on the 16.5-acre Commerce City parcel, with basic horizontal infrastructure and private development proposals expected to follow. Denver International Airport plans to run future projects on the site through its usual request-for-proposals and development review channels as it works to turn targeted areas into revenue-generating districts, according to Denver International Airport. For now, the swap highlights the airport’s broader strategy to trim less-useful holdings while pulling more buildable land closer to the airport campus.
