The Aurora Highlands’ first medical center broke ground this week, bringing health care closer to residents of the community.

AdventHealth broke ground on its new Aurora medical campus Wednesday.

The Aurora Highlands is a 4,000-acre master planned community just south of Denver International Airport.

The campus is scheduled to open in September of 2026, according to an AdventHealth news release.

In its first phase, the medical campus will include an emergency room with a helipad, an outpatient imaging center and clinic space, according to the release.

Currently, the closest emergency room to the community is at least nine miles away, according to AdventHealth Aurora Highlands ER CEO Michael Goebel. 

“The Aurora Highlands is one of the fastest-growing areas in the Colorado market,” Goebel said in the release. “This facility will not only provide whole-person care closer to home but will keep families from having to fight traffic to get the care they need.”

The Aurora Highlands neighborhood, expected to house tens of thousands of residents when it’s finished, is expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years.

As the community develops, it moves closer to being self sufficient. In September 2023, Aurora Highlands P-8 — the first of four new schools — opened. Libraries, green space, athletic fields and various other community amenities are among the planned additions to the community as it grows, according to the neighborhood website.

Aurora Councilmember Steve Sundberg, whose ward includes The Aurora Highlands, told The Denver Gazette that the medical facility will help close a gap in northeast Aurora, which he said has “grown rapidly” in housing and industry but lagged behind in healthcare access and retail.

“As an anchor institution, it will attract businesses, increase property values, and strengthen Aurora’s reputation as a regional healthcare hub,” Sundberg said. “Overall, this is a major win for northeast Aurora.”

The medical campus will go up in two phases, the first of which includes the construction of the emergency room and medical office building and the second of which includes expanding into a Level III trauma hospital. 

AdventHealth is investing $81 million into the 88,000-square foot facility, which will sit just south of The Aurora Highlands Parkway exit on E-470. 

Plans call for a three-story building with a freestanding emergency room with eight exam rooms, two trauma exam rooms and a helipad, an outpatient imaging center with CT, ultrasound and X-ray with plans to include MRI, clinic space on the second floor with 27 exam rooms, and a third floor for future clinic growth.

The Aurora Highlands’ CEO and principal developer Carla Ferreira said in the release the medical facility will not only provide access to healthcare, but also create jobs that support the area’s growth. 

“AdventHealth’s arrival at The Aurora Highlands marks an exciting milestone for our growing community,” Ferreira said. “This state-of-the-art facility will provide convenient access to world-class healthcare while creating valuable jobs that support the growth and vitality of the region.”

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said in an AdventHealth video during the groundbreaking ceremony that having healthcare in the community is “critical.”

Northeast Aurora is the “growth corridor” for the city, Coffman said.

“To have emergency services in this area is absolutely critical,” he said. “In addition to that, to be able to have … a full hospital and a full medical campus is an extraordinary plus for the city of Aurora.”