Centennial, Colorado City of Centennial, Colorado Centennial Civic Center positioned on East Arapahoe Road Centennial Civic Center positioned on East Arapahoe Road Official seal of City of Centennial, Colorado The City of Centennial is a Home Rule Municipality positioned in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States.
The town/city population was 100,377 at the 2010 United States Census.
Centennial is the tenth most crowded municipality in the state of Colorado and its 2001 town/city incorporation was the biggest in U.S.
Centennial is ranked as the 15th-safest town/city in the country.
The City of Centennial was formed on February 7, 2001, from portions of unincorporated Arapahoe County, including the former Castlewood and Southglenn census-designated places (CDPs).
The people of the region had voted to incorporate on September 12, 2000, choosing Centennial as the official name amid the vote.
The name reflects Colorado's admission to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence. The state of Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State". The town/city was incorporated in large part to prevent further annexations of unincorporated areas by the town/city of Greenwood Village in an attempt to advancement its tax base.
The town/city was incorporated on a promise to keep town/city taxes at 1%.
(One of the campaigns against incorporation appealed to voters to maintain the 3.8% revenue tax of the unincorporated county.) According to the City of Centennial website, the current revenue tax rate is two-and-a-half times the promised rate, at 2.5%.
Since the town/city is mostly new, some citizens in the Denver-Aurora urbane region do not yet recognize the region by the name "Centennial", especially since neighboring Aurora, Englewood and Littleton are the default place names assigned by the United States Postal Service for ZIP codes serving Centennial.
Thus, mailing addresses designated as "Aurora", "Englewood" or "Littleton" may actually be positioned in Centennial.
This causes considerable confusion, as Centennial and Englewood do not even share a boundary, while some portions of Centennial are surrounded by Aurora and vice versa.
Centennial Airport, formerly Arapahoe County Airport, lies adjoining to Centennial, but is positioned in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
The airport is not titled after the city, as it predates the town/city by over 30 years.
The city's boundaries are highly irregular and evocative of a gerrymander, especially the overwhelmingly residentiary easterly portions of the city, which appear with Foxfield, portions of Aurora, and unincorporated areas as a distorted checkerboard on a map.
Centennial has many hills, gullies and ravines, and its open spaces are usually accompanied by recreational trails and parks, including Dry Creek Dam, De - Koevend Park, the Highline Canal Trail, Willow Creek Trail, as well as Big Dry Creek and Little Dry Creek Trails.
Centennial hosts most native wildlife and is a good reflection of Colorado's front range ecosystem.
According to Centennial's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town/city are: Most of Centennial is inside the territory of the Cherry Creek Public Schools while the portion of the town/city in the territory of Littleton Public Schools. Centennial is also served by a several private schools.
Littleton High School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Littleton) Eaglecrest High School (located outside the town/city in unincorporated Arapahoe County) Cherry Creek High School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Greenwood Village) Cherokee Trail High School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Aurora) Smoky Hill High School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Aurora) Grandview High School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Aurora) Campus Middle School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Greenwood Village) West Middle School (located outside the city) Horizon Middle School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Aurora) Public Elementary Schools - West Centennial Ames Elementary School (closed at the end of 2008/2009 school year) Sandburg Elementary School Twain Elementary School Dry Creek Elementary School Homestead Elementary School Willow Creek Elementary School Greenwood Elementary School (located outside the city) Public Elementary Schools - East Centennial Indian Ridge Elementary School Trails West Elementary School Buffalo Trail Elementary School (located outside the town/city in neighboring Aurora) Private Elementary and Middle Schools The town/city is governed under the council-manager form of government which limits the power of the town/city to levy and collect taxes.
City of Centennial Officials International Headquarters for Gamma Phi Beta sorority are positioned in Centennial.
On September 10, 2008, it was announced that Centennial had been chosen as the site of the first IKEA store in Colorado. The IKEA Centennial locale opened on July 27, 2011.
It is the second-largest IKEA store in the United States. On October 7, 2011, IKEA Centennial was awarded the Project of the Year by the City of Centennial. Colorado metros/cities and suburbs 7 - NEWS - CQ Press Ranks Centennial As 15th Safest City In America - News Story a b "Profile for Centennial, Colorado, CO".
City of Centennial CAFR "City of Centennial Street Map - School Districts." (Archive) City of Centennial.
IKEA Centennial Home Page - IKEA Wikimedia Commons has media related to Centennial, Colorado.
City of Centennial website CDOT map of the City of Centennial Municipalities and communities of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States
Categories:
Centennial, Colorado - Cities in Arapahoe County, Colorado - Cities in Colorado - Denver urbane region - Populated places established in 2001
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