Lutheran Medical Center Legacy Campus

Aerial campus

Lutheran Medical Center, now part of Intermountain Healthcare, has served the Wheat Ridge and Jefferson County communities for more than 100 years. We are building a replacement hospital at Clear Creek Crossing, located at the intersection of I-70 and Hwy 58, about 3.5 miles west of the current campus. It will open in late 2024. 

Why are you building a new hospital instead of renovating the existing hospital?  

The current hospital is an aging structure that cannot be upgraded to include the infrastructure needed to support healthcare of the future. We would need to invest more than $240M in the legacy campus buildings to renovate them. The replacement hospital is more accessible, convenient, and energy efficient. 

Are all of the current programs at Lutheran Medical Center moving to the new campus? 

When the new Lutheran Medical Center opens in late 2024, most operations at the current campus will stop, except for the standalone hospice program. The remainder will likely be sold and developed, guided by the City of Wheat Ridge master planning process. Some of Lutheran’s outpatient clinics are currently located off-campus at Denver West and Red Rocks Medical Center. 

What will happen to the legacy campus? 

We partnered with the City of Wheat Ridge in a master planning process that incorporated extensive community input to ensure a well-defined, coordinated redevelopment strategy that is now part of the city’s master plan. Once hospital operations move to the new campus, the property will be available and a developer will be identified that can implement a long-range vision for the future of the site.   

As Lutheran vacates the current campus, we will remain the stewards of the grounds and hospital-owned buildings until the sale is complete.  

What will happen to the West Pines behavioral health program? 

Intermountain Healthcare has partnered with Acadia Healthcare to expand access to inpatient behavioral health services in the coming years. Programs could include adding more licensed beds, more providers, and building a new inpatient behavioral health facility at a new site.  

What will happen to the Blue House? And the Chapel? 

Decisions about the sale or redevelopment of any part of the current Lutheran Medical Center property, including existing structures, are still in the future and will be guided by the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan. As development plans are created, they will be announced to the community. 

We value the connection and the memories that community members have expressed toward the legacy campus and some of its structures, such as the Blue House and the Chapel. We are hopeful that this will be taken into consideration as part of a developer’s vision for the new property.  

The Blue House is an aging building and as such may not be appropriate for updating for use even as a historic building. Our offer to move it off property so it can be cared for or used for some purpose has gone unanswered to date.  

The Chapel has served the hospital and the community for many years as an integral piece of our legacy. It contains several beautiful and meaningful design elements. 

Both structures were identified as community assets with historic value during the master planning process. It was recommended that both should be targeted for preservation, rehabilitation or restoration, if possible, as laid out in the final master plan.  

For more updates, we encourage you to visit the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan, which City Council adopted after closely collaborating with SCL Health, now Intermountain Health. The master plan document reflects the community's vision and outlines a framework for future development. It is not a site plan, it does not prescribe specific uses, nor is it a zoning document. Ultimately, it communicates to prospective owners the community's expectations 

For information and updates on the move, visit TheLutheranLegacy.org.