LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Troubled By Mosaic Plan
My name is Cory Knight, and I live in Park Hill near 16th and Oneida. Thank you for covering the developments at the Mosaic campus last month. I wanted to reach out because I’m deeply concerned about the recent change in plans for the housing project there.
From your article, it appears the project that was originally planned as senior housing is now being developed as housing for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. If I’m understanding correctly, it is the same developer who was responsible for the recently completed buildings on the northeast side of the campus. However, those appear to be traditional affordable housing units, which I strongly support. In fact, our family has really enjoyed seeing new families move into the Mosaic area and become part of the neighborhood.
What concerns me is the apparent lack of communication with the surrounding community regarding this significant change in the purpose of the new building. Housing for individuals exiting homelessness is a very different model than senior housing, and it raises legitimate questions for nearby residents, particularly those of us with children who spend time on the campus every day.
Our family frequently walks through Mosaic, and our daughter walks through the campus to attend school at Denver School for the Arts. Campus security has already had to respond at times to individuals experiencing mental health crises confronting or yelling at students. Because of this, many families are understandably worried about safety if additional homeless-transitional housing is placed directly on campus.
I want to be clear that I believe people experiencing homelessness deserve support, dignity, and opportunities to rebuild their lives. At the same time, thoughtful planning, transparency, and community input are critical when placing this type of housing in a location that is heavily used by children and students.
There are several questions that many neighbors are asking:
• Will there be on-site services and security associated with the housing?
• What screening or background checks will be conducted for residents?
• What policies will exist regarding guests or visitors?
• How will the campus ensure the safety of nearby students, families, and residents?
Our part of Denver already appears to be hosting a significant share of transitional housing developments. Many neighbors feel the responsibility for addressing homelessness should be shared more evenly across the city, rather than concentrated in northeast Denver.
Lastly, the timing of the change from senior housing to transitional housing, shortly after the adjacent St. Elizabeth’s School (K-8) plans to close, is a little suspicious. It raises questions for many families who feel this type of shift should have involved more open discussion with the community.
I would welcome more transparency from city leaders, the developer, and Mosaic representatives about the decision-making process and the plans for ensuring the campus remains safe and welcoming for the many families and students who use it every day.
Thank you again for your reporting and for continuing to cover this issue.
— Cory Knight, Park Hill
Calling All Dead Heads
You’re invited to join City Park Adopt-a-Flowerbed, a volunteer group that gardens in City Park.
We nurture roses, lilacs, native plants and many other perennials.
Gardening experience is not required. We’re looking for folks to garden a couple hours a week as their schedules allow. It’s a great way to participate in the community and make a difference.
There are currently seven gardening groups: Dirty Knuckles, Rock Stars, Flower Power, In the Weeds, Root Group, Dead Heads, and Benedict Rose Gardeners. Each has a leader who sends emails about what’s happening in the park and info on tending to flowers, picnics, information sessions from the horticulturalists, pruning, weeding, getting rid of those pesky Japanese beetles, etc.
As a volunteer, you can work in a group that meets at a specific time and tend to one of the 30 rose beds in the rose gardens west of the museum. Some just do roses; some just do a flower bed. Some garden with a group at a set time, others garden on their own schedule.
The program is sponsored by Greater Park Hill Community and City Park Friends and Neighbors. Coordinators who have nurtured this project for over five years are Georgia Garnsey, Maria Flora, and Jackie June. Over 50 volunteer gardeners make it all possible.
If you are interested in joining, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Jackie June via email at jjdenco5008@gmail.com.
A rose bed kick-off event is scheduled for April 9 at 10 a.m. just west of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with rosarian Peg Williams. Please join us, and happy springtime!
— Sally Kennedy, Park Hill
We love your letters, and we give preference to those that address an issue that has been covered in the newspaper, or a topic that is Park Hill or Denver-specific. Send letters to editor@greaterparkhill.org, and include your full name and the neighborhood in which you live. Deadlines are the 15th of each month, for the following month’s issue.