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Tag: park hill

  • Denver opens cold-weather shelter at former hotel amid squabble between mayor, council

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    One of the largest emergency shelters in Denver’s system is again offering refuge from the cold this weekend after Mayor Mike Johnston unilaterally opened the site Friday — despite the City Council rejecting a contract for it late last year.

    The Aspen, formerly a DoubleTree hotel in northeast Denver, has space for up to 250 people in its ballroom and will be open as freezing temperatures pummel the Mile High City for the next few days.

    Johnston’s decision came after the city’s four other emergency shelters reached capacity on Thursday, the first night of the cold snap. The temperatures, expected to fall to near-zero Friday night and early Saturday, have the potential to cause frostbite in less than 30 minutes without proper attire.

    “With life-threatening cold settling over the city and people at risk of suffering serious injury or death, Mayor Johnston informed Council this morning that we will be opening the ballrooms at 4040 Quebec (St.) for temporary emergency cold weather shelter,” spokesman Jon Ewing wrote in a statement Friday.

    The near-failure to open needed cold-weather shelter space is just the latest chapter in an growing list of disagreements between the mayor and council members in which both sides have pointed fingers at one another.

    Denver extends severe weather shelter activation — and adds space — as cold grips city

    During a meeting on Dec. 8, 11 of the council’s 13 members voted to reject a contract to use the Aspen’s large space as a cold-weather shelter. (A separate contract with another provider, Urban Alchemy, covers the Aspen’s day-to-day use as a noncongregate shelter in the city’s homelessness initiative.)

    Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, whose district includes the shelter, said at the time that the mayor had promised her in 2023 that the site wouldn’t be used for the purpose of cold-weather sheltering.

    “My district is already overrepresented with shelters, with eight of them,” Lewis said. “This is ridiculous.”

    Only Councilmen Kevin Flynn and Darrell Watson voted to approve the contract last month.

    Another council-approved contract with Bayaud Works allows the city to use the ballroom space for short-term emergencies, Ewing said, and that is how the mayor’s office was able to open it Friday.

    Lewis has repeatedly asked the mayor’s administration to spread out the locations of the city’s homelessness services since she joined the council in 2023. Now, she says the mayor’s office is manufacturing an emergency to sidestep her continued protestations.

    Johnston “has failed to run the city with a long-term strategy,” she said in an interview Friday.

    Lewis said there shouldn’t be a cold-weather shelter at the same place as noncongregate housing. Instead, she asked for the Aspen’s ballroom to be used as a navigation center offering resources to homeless people.

    But Johnston’s team said they were taken by surprise when the council rejected the contract just as the winter months were setting in and hadn’t had nearly enough time to find enough shelter space since then.

    “The real emergency is that it is 5 degrees outside and people are going to die if we don’t get them inside,” Ewing said.

    The Aspen made the most sense to use, he said, because it’s already set up with cots, showers and bathrooms. A site that’s well-known among the city’s homeless population, it also mostly serves people who are already in that area, he said.

    “We do not just have shelter sites lying around. There are only so many spaces, and there is a likelihood we would need to hold community meetings, go through a full council process and potentially even rezone,” Ewing said.

    He added that the city didn’t plan to use the Aspen for cold-weather shelter next year. A new site for emergencies hasn’t been chosen yet, in part because of the limited options.

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    Elliott Wenzler

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  • Suspect in Park Hill motorcycle club shooting convicted of manslaughter in Denver

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    A Denver man charged with murder in a deadly 2023 shooting at a Park Hill motorcycle club was found guilty on lesser charges this week and sentenced to six years in prison.

    Todd Lynn Washington, 42, was convicted of reckless endangerment in August, but the Denver jury could not reach a verdict on first-degree murder charges in the case.

    Washington’s second trial was held this month, and on Monday, a Denver jury ruled he was guilty of two lesser counts of manslaughter and not guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, court records show.

    He was sentenced to six years in the Colorado Department of Corrections by Denver District Court Judge Eric Johnson on Wednesday, with credit for nearly 2 years of time served while his case was ongoing.

    Washington was also sentenced to 240 days in jail for two counts of reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors.

    Washington’s attorney, Anna Geigle with the Denver law firm Geigle Morales, in a statement thanked the jury and court “for their professionalism and commitment to ensuring that justice was fairly administered.”

    “The subject matter of this case was profoundly serious, and we deeply appreciate the time and care each juror devoted to hearing the evidence and reaching a verdict,” Geigle said.

    In a statement, Denver District Attorney John Walsh said his office respects the jury’s decision and “are pleased that Todd Washington and Shon McPherson – who was sentenced in September to life in prison for his role in the murders — are being held accountable for their crimes.”

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  • What should the new Park Hill look like? Residents have ideas.

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    DENVER — After years of debate over the land’s future, Denver’s Park Hill Golf Course is finally on its way to becoming a park.

    On Saturday morning, hundreds of neighbors weighed in on what their park and the surrounding area should look like during the Park Hill Open House.

    “Today is a really exciting day as we work towards what the old Park Hill Golf Course, Park Hill Park, is going to look like and feel like,” said Jolon Clark, Executive Director of Denver Parks and Recreation.

    “I’m so glad that we were able to preserve it, and now we can turn it into something amazing,” said Park Hill resident Jennifer Glitsos.

    The City of Denver acquired the 155-acre property earlier this year, following a years-long debate over development.

    In 2023, voters rejected a plan to allow housing and commercial development on the site. Then, earlier this year, the city acquired the land from Westside Investment Partners, marking Denver’s largest single purchase of private land for public use.

    In the months since the land acquisition, the community has had several chances to weigh in on ideas.

    Denver Parks and Recreation, along with the city’s Community Planning and Development team, is now presenting the draft framework so neighbors can continue to share their feedback.

    Some ideas on the table? Adventure parks, shuffleboard courts, zip lines – you name it.

    The last time Denver opened a park of this size was 1911, so city leaders say they want to do this right.

    “People are hearing each other – isn’t that the definition of community?” said Park Hill business owner Dawn Fay.

    Denver7 was there at the Park Hill Open House on Saturday morning, where we had the opportunity to hear some of your ideas.

    “Kids are my heart, so anything that’s used for youth and progresses their development is number one to me,” said Herman White, a longtime member of the Park Hill Pirates Youth Football Organization.

    “I have a little one who’s two years old, and so it’d be great to have a place to walk around and just enjoy [the space],” said Glitsos.

    The ideas go beyond the 155-acre park site.

    “I think there was so much debate around this property and what it should be, and there were so many members of the community who did want to see affordable housing and access to food,” said Clark, “we don’t want to just leave behind the rest of the community that still said there are other needs that need to be met, and just because we can’t deliver them here doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to deliver those things for the community.”

    Local

    Park Hill Golf Course: Timeline of its history as the community looks to future

    When city leaders announced the land acquisition in January, councilmembers stressed the importance of keeping the area surrounding the park affordable and welcoming to all.

    “We must be intentional about how we develop this space and ensure that this park, while a beacon of progress, does not contribute to the displacement of those who have called this place home for generations,” said Councilwoman Shontel Lewis. “The transformation of this land should lift existing residents, not push them out.”

    Denver7 heard some of your concerns and needs on Saturday.

    “There’s a lot of gentrification happening in this community, but the essence of this community, and what makes everyone proud about this community, is the diversity and the opportunities of inclusiveness,” said White.

    “If there’s any way to have access to healthy food, I think that would be really important for the neighborhood,” said Fay.

    While that transformation won’t happen on the park site itself, city leaders say they’re looking at ways to incorporate those on surrounding streets.

    “I think we need to have opportunities for entrepreneurship. We need to have a lot more businesses,” said White, “all I really want to do is ensure that this space is equitable.”

    Oh, and remember Park Hill Dave?

    He’s the runaway dog that evaded capture on the old Park Hill Golf Course for months on end.

    He’s since found a new home with Clark.

    Fay told Denver7 she’d love to see Park Hill Dave on bark ranger duty at the new park someday.

    “I think that’d be the coolest thing,” she said.

    What should the new Park Hill look like? Residents have ideas.

    Coloradans making a difference | Denver7 featured videos

    Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what’s right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.

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    Adria Iraheta

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  • Hundreds of affordable apartments approved for Colorado Boulevard colorado-boulevard-affordable-apartments-park-hill

    Hundreds of affordable apartments approved for Colorado Boulevard colorado-boulevard-affordable-apartments-park-hill

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    The last vacant parcel at 4050 N. Colorado Blvd. May 31, 2023.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    A developer has a key approval for building more than 300 apartments on vacant land near the Park Hill Golf Course on Colorado Boulevard.

    Denver City Council members voted on Monday to approve a rezoning plan for 4050 North Colorado Boulevard that paves the way for the project. Councilmembers voted 10-2 in favor of the rezoning, with Kevin Flynn and Amanda Sawyer in opposition.

    The rezoning applies to a block along Colorado Boulevard just south of Interstate 70 and near the 40th and Colorado A Line stop.

    While the primary goal of the plan was to rezone the empty 7-acre tract of land owned by the Urban Land Conservancy, the vote also rezoned an area currently occupied by a strip of restaurants and another affordable apartment complex, even though it is not part of the development project. 

    Both city officials and the Urban Land Conservancy described the plan’s details as “complicated.” The parcels occupied by the empty tract, the restaurants, and the existing apartment complex are all under a planned building group, which sets rules about what can be developed and how. 

    Urban Land Conservancy wanted to amend that plan in order to build hundreds of affordable housing units on the empty parcel of land. However, in order to do that, they needed to rezone the occupied southern parcel of land, which they were able to petition for due to owning over 51 percent of the land within the planned building group. 

    The petition to rezone the land received widespread support from the neighborhood, including that of the Northeast Park Hill Coalition, the local neighborhood group. The council also received some opposition to the plan, with critics citing increased traffic, lack of grocery stores, and other concerns. 

    DelWest, which owns the apartment complex in the southern tract, wrote to city council that they did not plan to formally object to the rezoning, but the company asked Urban Land Conservancy and the city to consider several concerns DelWest had about the future vision of the area. Their concerns included changes being made to the agreements outlined in the planned building group.

    This grass has been rezoned. May 31, 2023.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    OK, that’s interesting and all, but what are they going to do with the rezoned land?

    Urban Land Conservancy is now free to develop the northern tract of land, pending the mayor’s signature. As detailed in a proposal sent to the city, Urban Land Conservancy plans to build three apartment buildings for permanently affordable, multifamily housing. They’ll be between five and twelve stories tall. The first phase of construction would bring 300 affordable units to the area, with room for further expansion. 

    A park, accessible paths, urban plazas and playgrounds are also included in the proposal. Urban Land Conservancy said plans for those features are not finalized, as conversations with stakeholders continue. 

    There are no plans in the works to redevelop the southern parcel of land,occupied by the strip of restaurants and the existing affordable housing complex. That means residents there, as well as the Popeye’s, Starbucks, Carl’s Jr., and Neko Ramen & Rice, aren’t going away anytime soon. (Ed. note: Unless they want to…) 

    The upcoming development isn’t the only complicated rezoning issue to impact the area.

    In 2023, voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have turned the nearby Park Hill Golf Course, which at the time stood empty, into a massive mixed-use development. The ballot question was highly contentious, and after Denverites voted against it, city council voted to rezone the area to bring tee time back to the former golf course. However, the developer that currently owns the golf course hasn’t put a timeline on when the putting green will reopen.  

    Editor’s note: This article was updated on 10/2/24 at 5:36 p.m. to include information from a more recent version of the Urban Land Conservancy’s plan for the land.

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  • Fatal Denver crash involving light rail train and pedestrian under investigation

    Fatal Denver crash involving light rail train and pedestrian under investigation

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    Denver police are investigating after an overnight crash involving a light rail train and a pedestrian turned deadly in the city’s Park Hill neighborhood.

    An unidentified man was crossing against warning signals at Quebec Street and Smith Road when the train collided with him, Denver police spokesperson Katherine McCandless said.

    Officers responded to reports of the incident about 11:45 p.m. Friday, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene, McCandless said.

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    Lauren Penington

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  • North Park Hill flooded as water rushed from McAuliffe International to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

    North Park Hill flooded as water rushed from McAuliffe International to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

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    A pipe burst, causing massive flooding in North Park Hill, April 4, 2024.

    Hart Van Denburg / Colorado Public Radio

    “Go back,” a man yelled at a driver heading toward a gushing water pipe at the intersection of 25th Avenue and Kearney Street.

    The driver turned the car around, narrowly escaping the flood.

    Water surged from a pipe through North Park Hill on Thursday morning, flooding the intersection. Nearby yards and streets turned into lakes, as water rushed and then eddied from McAuliffe International School to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Glencoe Street, where people splashed their way through a torrent.

    The immediate site of the broken pipe flooded mightily. But along the roads beyond, the drains largely did what drains are supposed to do: carry muck and water to the South Platte River.

    “A Denver Water crew responded to the scene of a 24-inch pipe break at East 25th Avenue and Kearney Street around 11 a.m.,” wrote Denver Water spokesperson Jimmy Luthye early Thursday afternoon. “They isolated the break and shut the water off within the last hour.”

    So what caused the break?

    “We do not know the cause of the break at this time and it is possible we won’t be able to determine exact cause,” Luthye explained. “In general, breaks occur based on the condition of the pipe and its surroundings — including pipe age, pipe material, soil corrosivity, water flow, temperature and more. Every break is different but fixing them safely and quickly is always our top priority.”

    If you’re hoping to get through that intersection later today, give up.

    “There is no timetable at this time for repairs to be complete,” noted Luthye. “Work will last into the overnight hours.”

    We’ll update this post if we learn what caused the break.

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