Elitch Gardens will move in coming years to make space for a new downtown development project and may come to Aurora.

Revesco Properties, which co-owns the popular amusement park in the heart of Denver, is working on a project to turn the area at and around where Elitch Gardens sits into a mixed use residential and commercial neighborhood area. The area sits west of Speer Boulevard and south of the South Platte River.

The amusement park will relocate, Revesco Properties officials said, but the property management company hasn’t decided where yet.

Given Aurora’s location, with room to expand, and city officials’ desire to expand its entertainment opportunities with the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Conference Center, the city is in the running for the amusement park’s next home.

Revesco Properties’ spokesperson Julia Oblack said the company is actively looking for a site for a new Elitch Gardens location in metro Denver.

“We have been in discussions with a number of jurisdictions who may have suitable sites,” Oblack said.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has been in communication with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which co-owns the property, in recent months to discuss the possibility of the amusement park re-locating to Aurora.

Their plan, if Aurora is chosen, would be to put Elitch Gardens in the Adams County portion of northeast Aurora just west of E-470, Coffman said.

“I think if the right buffers are in place between the proposed location site and the adjacent properties, especially residential, then their concept would make sense and I would support it,” Coffman said.

Having adequate buffer would be especially important between the amusement park and the Gaylord Rockies and Convention Center, Coffman said.

“A representative from the Gaylord did express concerns to me about having an amusement park in the same general area,” Coffman said.

Having some kind of entertainment-related attraction near the hotel and convention center would be good, but the Gaylord expressed to Coffman that having some version of a Topgolf facility would get more support from them.

Elitch Gardens has a long history with the city of Denver, first opening its gates to the public in 1890 as a zoo started by John and Mary Elitch.

After John Elitch died in 1891, Mary Elitch continued to run Elitch Gardens, being the only woman in the world to own and manage a successful summer resort.

Known as “the Gracious Lady of the Gardens,” Elitch lived on the grounds until she died.

In years after, Elitch Gardens became a theater, ballroom and, eventually, an amusement park off 38th and Tennyson streets.

In 1994, construction on the new Elitch Gardens in Central Platte River Valley began, making it the first amusement park built in an urban area in the U.S. in over 30 years.

In 1995, Elitch Gardens moved to its current location in central downtown Denver, added rides and went through various ownership — including Six Flags — to become the amusement park many in the Denver area know and love.