The Gardens at Columbine

Last verified: October 2026 against CDPHE's registry and Find and Compare record.

License and contact information

View the CDPHE inspection record

Is The Gardens at Columbine in Littleton licensed by the State of Colorado?

Yes. The Gardens at Columbine holds an active Assisted Living Residence license from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Facility ID 2304QP, for 147 resident beds at 5130 W Ken Caryl Ave, Littleton, CO 80128. CDPHE's registry, last updated September 29, 2026, lists it as Active, with private pay as the payor source on record.

The licensee CDPHE has on file is SIGNATURE ASSISTED LIVING LLLP. The licensee is the legal entity answerable to the state; it is often a property-level company, and the brand on the sign may be a separate management company.

Open The Gardens at Columbine's record in CDPHE's Find and Compare tool. It shows the inspections, citations and occurrence reports summarized below; click any inspection to read the citation text and the facility's plan of correction.

What does The Gardens at Columbine's CDPHE inspection record show?

CDPHE's record for The Gardens at Columbine shows 6 inspections and 20 citations between 2023 and 2026. The most recent re-licensure inspection listed is dated Apr 1, 2025. Most of the visits were complaint inspections and revisits, which CDPHE makes after a complaint is filed and again to confirm fixes.

The latest entries on the state record:

• Aug 25, 2026: Revisit: Licensure (Re-licensure) (inspection GBSD12)
• Aug 25, 2026: Licensure Complaint (inspection KPVC11)
• Apr 1, 2025: Licensure (Re-licensure) (inspection GBSD11)
• Apr 1, 2025: Revisit: Licensure and Licensure Complaint (Combined) (inspection N0TG12)
• May 8, 2023: Licensure Complaint (inspection N0TG11)
• Mar 13, 2023: Licensure Complaint (inspection O6JS11)

What incidents has The Gardens at Columbine reported to CDPHE?

The Gardens at Columbine filed 17 occurrence reports with CDPHE between 2023 and 2026, about 12 per 100 licensed beds. Occurrences are incidents a facility must report to the state itself, such as an abuse allegation or a resident going missing; a report is not a finding of fault.

Latest occurrence categories on the record:

• Aug 22, 2026: Physical Abuse
• Jul 24, 2026: Misappropriation of Property
• Jul 9, 2026: Misappropriation of Property
• May 23, 2026: Physical Abuse
• Apr 5, 2026: Diverted Drugs

That rate is close to the median of 13 per 100 beds among the large metro communities we profile. Residences that serve more people with dementia tend to report more, and prompt reporting is itself required, so ask what the residence learned from recent reports rather than judging the count alone. Each report in CDPHE's tool opens a summary of what happened and what the facility did.

How large is The Gardens at Columbine compared with other assisted living in Littleton?

The Gardens at Columbine is licensed for 147 beds, more than 95% of the 421 active assisted living residences in the seven-county Denver metro, where the median is 12 beds. It is the largest of the 44 CDPHE-licensed ALRs with a Littleton address.

Arapahoe County has 136 active ALRs with 3,585 licensed beds in total. 34 of the 44 in Littleton are small homes of 16 beds or fewer, usually a converted house with a few caregivers rather than a purpose-built community. A community the size of The Gardens at Columbine usually has more on-site services and a fuller activity calendar; a small home usually offers more one-on-one attention and a quieter setting.

Does The Gardens at Columbine accept Health First Colorado (Medicaid)?

Not according to CDPHE. The Gardens at Columbine is licensed as an Assisted Living Residence without Alternative Care Facility certification, and the payor source on record is private pay. Families using Health First Colorado's HCBS-EBD waiver need one of the 148 ACF-certified residences in the metro.

The waiver pays for personal care in an ACF, not room and board. See how the HCBS-EBD waiver works.

Does The Gardens at Columbine offer memory care?

CDPHE's public data does not say whether The Gardens at Columbine runs a secure memory-care area, because Colorado licenses memory care under the same ALR license. Ask the residence directly, and if it does, request its written secure-environment disclosure under 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 7, Part 25.

The disclosure is required by 6 CCR 1011-1, Chapter 7, Part 25; a residence that runs a secure area should hand it over without hesitation.

How much does assisted living cost near The Gardens at Columbine?

CDPHE does not publish prices, and we do not list a price for The Gardens at Columbine. Across the Denver metro in 2026, assisted living typically runs about $3,200 to $5,800 a month and secured memory care about $4,500 to $7,800, before care-level charges.

Ask for the base rent, the care-level fee schedule, the community fee and the last two years of rate increases in writing. Compare with assisted living costs in Littleton.

Which hospitals are closest to The Gardens at Columbine?

The closest acute-care hospital to The Gardens at Columbine is UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital in Highlands Ranch, about 3.2 miles away in a straight line, using CDPHE's own facility locations.

• UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital, 1500 Park Central Dr, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129: 3.2 mi
• AdventHealth Littleton, 7700 S Broadway, Littleton, CO 80122: 3.5 mi
• HCA HealthONE Swedish, 501 E Hampden Ave, Englewood, CO 80113: 6.3 mi

Paramedics choose the destination in an emergency, but planned care follows your parent's doctors, so check which system they belong to.

What other licensed assisted living is near The Gardens at Columbine?

There are 29 other CDPHE-licensed assisted living residences within three miles of The Gardens at Columbine. The nearest is Almond Tree Senior Care - Littleton, about 0.3 miles away, with 10 licensed beds.

• Almond Tree Senior Care - Littleton, Littleton: 10 beds, CDPHE ID 23M202, 0.3 mi
• Sun Valley Assisted Living, Littleton: 8 beds, CDPHE ID 2304TZ, 0.3 mi
• Nourish Assisted Living, Littleton: 8 beds, CDPHE ID 23R696, 0.3 mi
• Nourish Assisted Living at Rowland1,, Littleton: 8 beds, CDPHE ID 2304BH, 0.6 mi
• Thrivecare, Littleton: 8 beds, CDPHE ID 23W354, 0.6 mi
• Thrivecare Rowland, Littleton: 8 beds, CDPHE ID 2304J1, 0.6 mi

How should you evaluate The Gardens at Columbine before choosing it?

Start with the public record, then visit twice. For The Gardens at Columbine specifically, ask for the statement of deficiencies from its most-cited inspection and the plan of correction.

Time one visit for a meal and another for early evening, when staffing is thinnest. Watch whether residents are engaged or simply waiting, and how quickly call lights are answered. You can also call the Colorado Long-Term Care Ombudsman (303-862-3524) about any residence.

What should you ask on a tour of The Gardens at Columbine?

Bring questions the CDPHE record can't answer: night staffing, how The Gardens at Columbine decides a resident needs more care, and how the monthly fee changes when it does.

• How is the monthly fee calculated, what triggers a higher care level, and how often did rates rise in the last two years?
• Can family visit unannounced, including evenings?
• Who passes medications — a nurse or a Qualified Medication Administration Person (QMAP) — and how are errors tracked?
• What happens to my parent's apartment and care plan during a hospital or rehab stay?
• How many caregivers are awake and on the floor overnight, and how does that change on weekends?
• How do you respond to a fall at 2 a.m. — who checks on the resident, and when is family called?
• Which entity holds the CDPHE license, and has ownership or management changed in the last two years?