November 19-December 2, 2014 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 31AA
Economic Development News
The City Council of Commerce
City and community leaders cel-
ebrated the start of construction
on the city’s new outdoor leisure
pool.
The first of five projects that will
be completed in thenext fiveyears,
the $137 million voter-approved
capital improvement program
will meet the parks, recreation and
roadway improvement needs of
the community.
“With nearly 50,000 residents
and growth only projected to con-
tinue, having an outdoor place for
all generations helps achieve our
vision of a Quality Community
for a Lifetime,” said Mayor Sean
Ford. “I want to thank voters for
their trust in the city and helping
us to meet the needs of current
and future residents.”
The two-acre center will include
a 5,000-square-foot, zero-depth lei-
sure pool, threewater slides, a 250-
foot lazy river, a 1,700-sf toddler
pool and play structures.
“This really marks the begin-
ning of a new era for Commerce
City,” said Maria Gonzalez, co-
chair of the Quality Community
Initiative, a grass-roots effort that
included residents, business own-
ers, property owners and non-
profits that identified long-term
community needs in advance of a
ballot measure. “This is more than
just a pool. Our youth will have a
safe space to spend their free time.
Families can come together and
enjoy quality time at a reasonable
cost. This is going to be a state-of-
the-art aquatic facility for all ages
to enjoy.”
The outdoor leisure pool is just
one of five projects funded by a 1
percent sales and use tax increase
approved by voters in 2013 to
build, operate and maintain five
projects over the next five years.
The city is committed to complet-
ing these first five projects by Jan.
1, 2019: three new neighborhood
parks (Fronterra, Turnberry and
Villages at Buffalo Run East); wid-
ening of Tower Road between
80th and 103rd avenues; a new
recreation center at Second Creek;
new additions to the existing rec-
reation center; and new outdoor
pool at Pioneer Park.
The total project budget for the
outdoor pool is $10 million. The
architect/engineer for the project
is Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative;
the general contractor is Golden
Triangle Construction. Wember
Inc. is serving as the owner’s rep-
resentative for the city.
s
The Downtown Denver Part-
nership launched a crowdfund-
ing campaign to fund the full
design of a new protected bike
lane on the Arapahoe Street cor-
ridor in downtown Denver.
The announcement was made
at the conclusion of the Creating
a Bicycle City forum, a series of
five-minute presentations from
seven bike enthusiasts highlight-
ing how Denver can create the
top downtown for bicycling in
the country.
Presentations highlighted the
importance of creating a bicycle
city and recent findings such as:
The percent of people ages 16 to
24 with a driver’s license is now
at its lowest since 1963; the num-
ber of protected bike lanes across
the country has quadrupled in
the last year; the bicycle industry
in Colorado brings $1 billion to
the state’s economy; and approxi-
mately 8,000 downtown Denver
employees bike to work every
day.
Before the forum concluded,
Anadarko, who sponsored the
forum, kicked off the crowd-
funding campaign by pledging
to donate $2,500. Several compa-
nies followed suit with pledges,
including RedPeak Properties,
iTriage, Valley Crest Design
Group, HDR, GreenBox Self Stor-
age and East West Partners.
“The Arapahoe Street protect-
ed bike lane campaign is a great
way for businesses in downtown
Denver that value bike-friendly
infrastructure to help build our
city’s bicycle network,” said Tami
Door, president and CEO of the
Downtown Denver Partnership.
“Companies like Anadarko and
our other initial donors will be
critical in making this campaign
a success”
The partnership is hoping
to raise at least $35,000 from
the community to add to the
$120,000 already donated by the
Gates Family Foundation and
the Downtown Denver Busi-
ness Improvement District. The
Arapahoe Street corridor was
selected with input from the pub-
lic and fulfills the city's need to
enhance the network of protected
bike lanes in downtown Denver.
Once the corridor has been fully
designed, the city and county of
Denver will begin the process of
scheduling the construction of the
corridor into its annual work plan
and/or identify other funding
sources to complete the corridor.
When completed, the Arapa-
hoe Street protected bike lane will
be the fourth protected bike lane
in downtown Denver. The 15th
Street protected bike lane opened
in May and protected bike lanes
on 14th and Lawrence streets cur-
rently are in design and sched-
uled to be completed in 2015.
The Downtown Denver Part-
nership is accepting corporate
and individual donations toward
the design of the Arapahoe Street
protected bike lane now through
Dec. 12.
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