Lone Tree officials cut the ribbon Tuesday on the city's new Justice Center, a 37,000-square-foot building that will house the municipal court and the Lone Tree Police Department as the fast-growing Douglas County suburb prepares for a wave of new residents east of Interstate 25. Mayor Marissa Harmon said the facility was built for “Lone Tree residents, visitors and its future,” framing the opening as a milestone two decades in the making for a police department that only came into being in 2005.
The building opens to the public Monday, according to Denver7, which reported that Harmon said the new center affirms the commitment of current and former city councils to position Lone Tree for its future. The station's report also detailed the practical upgrades officers are getting: a gym, a community emergency operations center room, on-site training space and community areas designed to bring residents and police into the same building rather than scattered across town.
A Department That Outgrew Its Old Office
Before the Justice Center existed, the Lone Tree Police Department operated from the city's main municipal building on Kimmer Drive, while municipal court proceedings were held at a civic center tucked inside a residential neighborhood, according to the City of Lone Tree. CBS News also covered the project's groundbreaking last year.
Chief Kirk Wilson, who has led the department for almost a decade, said the new facility will help the department and the city keep pace with Lone Tree's growth, per the same account from Denver7. Wilson also said community cooperation is necessary for effective policing, and he expects the building to help recruit and retain employees in a department that has now operated for 20 years and entered its 21st year of service.
Built on Donated Land Amid a Population Boom
The city broke ground on the project on May 22, 2025, at the corner of RidgeGate Parkway and High Note Avenue, on land donated by master developer Coventry Development, according to RidgeGate. Construction of the Justice Center cost approximately $30 million, city spokesperson Melissa Gallegos told the Denver Gazette, part of a broader $50 million civic capital program that also includes a $20 million Public Works Operations facility. Municipal development applications also reference the project.
The project is supported by city financing, with revenue streams and reserves discussed in city finance records. U.S. Census figures put Lone Tree's population at 14,253 in 2020, with an estimated 15,278 residents in 2025 — even as city planning projections indicate the municipal population could roughly double over the coming decade as the RidgeGate East corridor builds out.
Serving Far More Than 15,000 Residents
That growth is concentrated heavily east of I-25, where the Justice Center now sits inside a master-planned corridor that will eventually include the 80-acre High Note Regional Park and a 158,000-square-foot Lone Tree Village retail complex anchored by King Soopers. City economic data also points to a daytime population that includes regional workers and shoppers flowing into commercial hubs like Charles Schwab and Park Meadows.
That daytime activity, plus a growing residential base, has kept Lone Tree Police busy well beyond routine calls. The department has assisted Douglas County deputies during pursuits near the city's borders, as Hoodline reported when suspects fleeing a Highlands Ranch theft crashed near Lone Tree.
High Marks From Residents
Despite the strain of policing a city whose daytime population dwarfs its resident count, the department reported a 92% approval rating in its latest community survey, according to Denver7's reporting — a figure the outlet noted stands well above the 51% or less that other police departments typically receive. Wilson pointed to that community cooperation as central to how the department operates, and Harmon said she believes the new building will give officers a place to unwind and recharge as the city continues to expand.
