Serving the community since 1926
WEEK OF JANUARY 2, 2025
VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 5
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Affordable housing coming to Baker employment nonprofit Bayaud Enterprises BY MERYL PHAIR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
stairs and congestion on the central promenade, said Trevor Lee, the landscape designer on the project. The new vision of the park will create a park path network that flows from the gateways into the park along a garden walk that provides access to shaded seating, a cafe and food truck court, the Great Lawn and the performance stage. Some of the biggest upgrades will be at the Greek Theater itself, which is challenged by a lack of performance infrastructure like lights or speakers, a scale that is too big for the kind of events often hosted on the stage, and there are disruptions to the audience’s view of the stage from building elements or sun glare.
Bayaud Enterprises is set to tear down its longtime 333 W. Bayaud Ave. location, repurposing the site into Henninger Legacy Homes, a four-story, 60unit supportive housing building available for individuals making less than 30% of the area’s median income. The employment-support organization has partnered with the nonprofit Atlantis Community Foundation to complete the project, securing funding for the venture through the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Both organizations have a shared mission to serve people who are disabled or experiencing homelessness with the new housing project honoring the legacy of David Henninger who founded Bayaud Enterprises in 1969. Retiring last month from the nonprofit’s board, Henninger’s legacy for providing community services to atrisk populations will be living on in the permanent building in Denver’s Baker neighborhood. Having provided services to the neighborhood for 50 years, Bayaud will continue providing housing counseling and employment services out of the new building following construction. During construction, their administrative offices have relocated to Lakewood. “The project will be an efficient way to deliver supportive services to the people who live there,” said Patrick Coyle, executive director of the Atlantis Community Foundation. Another property Atlantis previously completed was a 144-unit building about a block from Bayaud’s current property. Coyle said construction on the supportive housing initiative would begin in December, and a groundbreaking event is scheduled to take place in January. With an estimated build time of about 14 months, the units are slated to open in the spring of 2026. About 20% of the current building will remain and the rest will be torn down.
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The proposed remodeling of the Greek Theater would move the stage from the south end of the promenade to the north and add a sculptural COURTESY OF THE CITY OF DENVER canopy overhead.
Civic Center Park improvements scheduled for fall 2025 Projects focus on attracting more activity, pedestrian accessibility BY NATALIE KERR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
The Civic Center Conservancy, the nonprofit maintaining Civic Center Park in the Golden Triangle, recently announced its plans to begin park revitalization efforts in 2025. The projects will include enhancements to pedestrian access, community events and attractive greenspace to make the area feel more welcoming for daily use. “The community wants it
to stay a place where they can continue to make their memories, to have their stories be told,” conservancy executive director Eric Lazzari said. “That’s ultimately what we hope the community gets out of it, that it is something that they can be proud of, that they want to come and visit, that they want to show visitors, that they can come and find.” Construction is planned for fall 2025 through spring 2027 to remodel the Greek Theater, replace stairs with accessible walkways, add several gardens and shaded courtyards and create a monument honoring the Gang of 19 event of 1978, which helped promote the Disability Rights Movement in Denver. A central goal of the improvement plans is to en-
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courage more casual, daily gatherings in the park for dog walking, community events in the Greek Theater or simply enjoying the sunshine and the amenities in the park, Lazzari said. Currently, the park feels too formal, said Juliane Wolf, principal designer on the project during an implementation meeting on Oct. 29. Although the park is well-suited for large-scale events, like the annual Christkindl Market or concerts, individuals are turned off by the concreteheavy, grand spaces of the park. Wolf said because of that, it feels like a disruption to the surrounding Golden Triangle neighborhood, rather than something that connects the community. That problem is exacerbated by dead-end sidewalks,
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