Major Jacob Downing, Colorado pioneer and judge, purchased the land in the late 1860s and developed it into a ranch, raising Arabian horses.

The site was chosen for its rural setting; because it was far from the nation's borders, it was presumed safer than coastal areas from enemy sabotage or attack.

Building 810, in the southwest corner of the Federal Center, was once the largest warehouse west of the Mississippi River and in 1965 was state-of-the-art and fully automated.

Lakewood City Manager signed an offer to purchase 65 acres (26 ha) on the west side of the Denver Federal Center for $25 million.

The new campus for St. Anthony Central Hospital opened in 2011, followed by the Federal Center station operated by RTD with light rail, bus service and a park and ride lot in 2013.

[3] On August 3, 2007, The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Rocky Mountain Region awarded a contract worth $6.9 million to SunEdison for designing and constructing a solar park at the Denver Federal Center.

[4][5] GSA expanded the solar project to include additional solar panels at an additional cost of $40 million, paid for by federal stimulus money, which government and industry experts estimate will pay for itself between 29-48 years, and expand total energy output to 15% of the Denver Federal Centers needs.

[7] After the closure of the Denver Ordnance Plant, the GSA and other agencies disposed of miscellaneous wastes, including chemicals, contaminated material, and building and road demolition debris.

As a consequence of the disposal of the materials, the EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) have considered these areas to be significantly contaminated by hazardous waste.

The leak caused a large groundwater solvent plume to spread beyond the DFC's eastern boundary and contaminate neighboring wells.

To mitigate groundwater contamination by the chlorinated solvents, in 1996 the U.S. Geological Survey served as an advisor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the construction of in-ground permeable reactive barriers.

An estimated 575 gallons of water leaked into the ground, although USGS officials claimed there was no evidence of contamination measured at a nearby groundwater monitoring well at that time.