It started over pancakes.
In the summer of 1998, five neighbors sat down at The Original Pancake House with a bold idea. John Brackney, Ed Bosier, Randy Pye, Pete Ross and Brian Vogt believed the growing community around them deserved a stronger voice in its future. They spent the next two years knocking on doors, gathering neighbors and building support for a city that would be governed locally, spend taxpayer dollars responsibly and preserve the character of the community they called home. On September 12, 2000, 77% of voters said yes. On February 7, 2001, the City of Centennial was born.
What followed became one of the largest city incorporations in American history. First Mayor Randy Pye called it "a city of miracles." He wasn't wrong.
And honestly, the Post Office still hasn't caught up, but we have.
Twenty-five years later, Centennial is home to more than 110,000 residents, recognized as one of Colorado's best places to live, one of the safest communities in the state, and still somehow one of the best-kept secrets on the Front Range.
This isn't a city that needed to shout. It grew the way good communities do, quietly, intentionally, neighbor by neighbor. Parks and trails that connect us. Local businesses that invest in our community. A government built on the belief that residents should have a voice in the decisions shaping their future.
Mayor Christine Sweetland said it best at this year's State of the City: "Centennial was built on the belief that communities thrive when residents have a voice." Twenty-five years later, that hasn't changed one bit.
And the next 25? There's a lot to look forward to. Midtown Centennial is reimagining the I-25 corridor into something vibrant and walkable. Denver Summit FC, Colorado's first professional women's soccer team, is putting down roots right here. A newly redesigned splash pad is now open at Centennial Center Park.
On June 6th, thousands gathered at Centennial Center Park to celebrate 25 years of this city we call home. Past and present Council members stood side by side. Local vendors and nonprofits filled the park. And neighbors, some who have been here since the beginning and some just finding their way home, stopped to write love letters to Centennial. They filled out community passports, naming their favorite places, their hidden gems, the things that make this place theirs. It was exactly what Centennial has always been. Not a ceremony. A community.
Centennial has always been easy to overlook and impossible not to love once you find it. Maybe that's because from the beginning it was never really about buildings, roads or boundaries. It was about people who believed they could create something better together.
Twenty-five years later, that spirit is still here.
Here's to the first 25 years, and to whatever comes next.
It was never really about buildings, roads or boundaries. It was about people who believed they could create something better together.