Few vehicles moved in and out of the Denver Federal Center gates Wednesday.

The Denver Federal Center — located off of West 6th Avenue and Kipling Street in Lakewood — has the nation’s largest concentration of federal offices outside Washington, D.C., with 55 buildings on its 600-acre campus.

The complex is home to key agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management and Department of the Interior.

While there were some cars parked near the various buildings in the complex, and some vehicle were seen driving around, buildings like BLM’s Colorado State Office and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation appeared empty, with no cars in the lot.

The BLM building had a closed sign on the front door.

Security guards were still on duty and would not allow media or other visitors to enter the complex without a written approval.

Around 54,300 federal workers live in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Unemployment Insurance Division. Around 6,000 of them work directly at the Lakewood complex.

“We’ve definitely noticed a difference,” Ciara Picard, an employee at the nearby Bread+Salt restaurant, told The Denver Gazette Wednesday morning.

The restaurant, usually bustling throughout the morning, was nearly empty around 11 a.m.

“The workforce at the Federal Center has always been a foundational part of the city’s local economy and an important part of the regional economy,” Stacie Oulton, Lakewood spokesperson, said in a statement. “These employees live in Lakewood, Jefferson County and the metro area, and if we have residents whose jobs are affected, it will be a difficult situation, just as it would be with any other major industry affected in a similar way.”

Oulton added that the shutdown will also undercut private companies in Lakewood and across the country that conduct business with the federal government.

Kelli Curl, director for the Office of Policy and Public Affairs at Jefferson County Public Health, agreed with Oulton about the impact on federal employees.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the Federal Center, but many federal employees call Jefferson County and the broader Denver metro region home,” she told The Denver Gazette on Tuesday before the official shutdown. “Many of these federal workers face being furloughed if the federal government shuts down.”

Jefferson County Public Health has been keeping a close eye on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, she added. The program provides nutrition to low-income women and their children.

There are around 5,700 WIC participants in Jefferson County, she said. There is still enough funding to cover the benefits throughout October, despite the shutdown.

Other benefit programs like SNAP and Colorado Works, which are federally funded but locally administered, will also still be available in October.

“Going without pay for a period of time would create financial strain on these local families and economies at a time when things already feel hard for many in our communities,” Curl said.