WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2025
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 32
FREE
City Council will no longer turn the Early College of Arvada into homeless navigation center BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Early members of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce threw the first Arvada Harvest Festival.
PHOTOS COURTESY ARVADA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Arvada Chamber of Commerce celebrates 100th anniversary, rebrands to ‘Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce’ Rebrand seeks to highlight chamber’s regional work, festivities on tap for centennial BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In autumn 1924, a group of business owners in the thennascent community of Arvada called for a meeting to form the Arvada Chamber of Commerce, a move they hoped would keep Arvada “in the van of progress.” Shortly after, the first-ever meeting of the Arvada Chamber was held at the Arvada Lumber Company, from which the chamber’s first campaign — urging locals to vote with the slogan “Vote As You Please — But Vote” — was born. On Jan. 27, 1925, the chamber was incorporated by the Colorado Secretary of State, and 100 years later, the Arvada Chamber is still going strong. The early days of the chamber
were marked by efforts such as throwing Arvada’s first Harvest Festival and financially supporting the installation of the first traffic light in Arvada (and all of Jefferson County, at the intersection of Wadsworth Boulevard and Grandview Avenue). Some of the chamber’s longstanding traditions are still practiced today; the annual Man and Woman of the Year awards have been doled out since 1955, the chamber’s Annual Golf Tournament has been held since 1967 and local favorite Taste of Arvada has been going strong since 2004. This year, a host of celebrations are planned to commemorate the chamber’s centennial, including an Era’s Tour-themed 100th-anniversary gala and a 100 Members in 100 Days Cam-
VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 10 | CALENDAR: 13 | SPORTS: 16
paign, along with one fairly noteworthy change: going forward, the chamber will be known as the Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce to be “inclusive and representative of all the businesses and non-profits we work with and impact across the region,” Chamber CEO Kami Welch said. “The desire to update our name to the Greater Arvada Chamber really spurs from our kind of impact regionally that we’ve taken on in recent years,” Welch said. “We certainly serve a lot of businesses and partners and nonprofits in Arvada, but we’re also working with a lot of people outside our community in order to ensure that our businesses can really thrive. “It takes a more regional ap-
proach, and so this concept of moving to “Greater (Arvada)” really just embraces this idea of businesses don’t know boundaries, and we want to make sure that as an organization, we’re being open to the partnerships that exist outside of Arvada,” Welch continued. Some of the chamber’s already-ongoing regional campaigns include the B.O.L.D. 2026 program that seeks to support the regional talent development, housing, childcare and business environment ecosystems; partnerships with Red Rocks Community College, Colorado Succeeds and Colorado Thrives; and work with the Jefferson County Business and Workforce Center. SEE ANNIVERSARY, P2
After east Arvada residents spoke out against the city’s plan to use the former Early College of Arvada building as a homeless navigation center last year, the Arvada City Council reversed course on Monday and unanimously approved a motion to sell the building. In July 2024, the council approved the purchase of the building, located at 4905 W. 60th Ave, for $6.3 million, with the plan to use it as a homeless navigation center. At a town hall Sept. 17, residents voiced their displeasure — city documents suggested using the building as “a navigation center, a 24/7 emergency shelter or other similar uses” at the time of the purchase — then many more residents came to the Oct. 7 city council meeting to protest the plan. The council never finalized the plan for the site at the time but planned more community meetings. Then, at the Jan. 27 Arvada City Council meeting, councilmembers unanimously approved a motion brought forth by Councilmember Shawna Ambrose to direct the city team to initiate the sale of the building, by a 7-0 vote. About 30 members of the Arlington Meadows homeowners association — located near the proposed homeless SEE HOMELESSNESS, P4
2025
VOTING STARTS
MARCH 1!
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