Talk of the Neighborhood
Compiled by Cara DeGette, Editor, GPHN
Heads up, neighbors!
Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. has partnered with National Research Center, Inc. to conduct a neighborhood-wide survey, which is anticipated to launch this month. NRC is an independent survey research firm that will collect and analyze data on numerous topics, including what residents think about current and future land use decisions impacting our community.
This is a statistically representative survey, so not everyone in Park Hill will receive it. However if you are selected, we ask that you take the opportunity to complete and submit it promptly. Your feedback will play an important role in informing the Registered Neighborhood Organization’s strategic priorities, policies, and overall direction.
Selected individuals will be contacted via mail (US Postal Service). If you have any questions, feel free to call the GPHC office at 303-388-0918 (that number also will appear on the postcard and letter from the NRC).
Thanks in advance for your participation in this important survey.
The following is a synopsis of what was discussed during the Aug. 1 Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. monthly meeting. The next community meeting is Thursday, Sept. 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at 2823 Fairfax St. See page 1 for details about GPHC’s annual meeting on Oct. 3.
A Word From Westside
Kenneth Ho, who recently went to work for Westside Investment Partners, introduced himself to attendees and answered a few questions about his company’s purchase of the Park Hill Golf Course land. On July 10 Clayton Early Learning sold the155-acre property to the development company for $24 million. The transaction came as a surprise to many. The golf course, now closed, is in the northwest area of Park Hill, at Colorado Boulevard and 35th Avenue, and stretches north and east. It is about the size of Denver’s Washington Park. In 1997, Denver taxpayers paid $2 million to Clayton for a conservation easement on the land, meaning it can’t be developed unless the city council votes to remove the easement and rezone the property.
Open space advocates have been urging Denver elected officials to maintain the conservation easement and work to preserve the parcel as a park. Ho said that he joined Westside Investment Partners in July, and is the project manager for the Park Hill Golf Course property. His company biography notes he currently serves on the Mayor’s Housing Advisory Committee and spent five years as chair of the Denver Planning Board.
One of Westside’s current projects is redeveloping the 72-acre Loretto Heights campus in southwest Denver, as a commercial and residential project. Ho said that plans for the Park Hill Golf Course property have not been determined, but that “the expectation is that we will recoup our investment.” Ho also said that Westside is “absolutely” open to developing the golf course land as a park, and that the developers intend to follow a city-led process to determine the future of the property. The GPHN will continue to cover this story in upcoming issues.
Colfax Urban Renewal
Tracey Huggins with the Denver Urban Renewal Authority highlighted efforts to create an urban renewal area for the 1.5-mile stretch of Colfax between Monaco Parkway and Yosemite Street. Huggins noted the designation would give developers the ability to access tax increment financing, and stimulate property improvements within the corridor. Some of the properties may be declared blighted, but not necessarily all of them. On Aug. 26 the city council approved the plan 11-2. Council members Candi CdeBaca and Stacie Gilmore dissented, citing concerns that current residents would be displaced.
Get The Lead Out
Angela Wolcott and Stacy Chesney, who are with the Denver Water Lead Reduction Program, provided an overview about continuing efforts to eliminate lead, which is a carcinogen, from drinking water. Lead pipes were used until 1971, when they were banned. Denver Water has not exceeded the lead action level since 2012. The women estimated between 50,000 to 90,000 lead lines are still in the system, which feeds Denver homes. An estimated 12,000 lead pipes are removed and replaced every year, and homes built before 1950 are more likely to have lead pipes than those built since then. Free in-home water quality testing is available by calling 303-893-2444. Check out Denverwater.org/Lead for more information.
Executive Director Update
GPHC Executive Director Lana Cordes provided several updates on the work of the Registered Neighborhood Organization. The free farm stand outside the office at 2823 Fairfax St. is open on Mondays through September. Stop by and drop off some of your excess garden produce and/or pick up a few veggies. Cordes noted that between January and the end of July, 373 individuals representing 132 households have used the GPHC’s emergency food pantry. That represents nearly 7,000 meals. The pantry currently needs canned spinach and other types of vegetables and potatoes. See page 20 for details on how and where to donate.