Downtown Denver National Night Out – Tuesday, August 5th, 4:30-7:30 p.m., at Skyline Park 1 located on Arapahoe Street between 15th and 16th Streets. Don’t forget to attend this year’s Downtown Denver National Night Out! Michael Spencer from CBS Colorado is this year’s emcee. Our guests include Mayor Johnston, DPD Deputy Chief Sanchez, DFD Chief Fulton, newly appointed RTD Chief Martingano, Council Members Hinds and Watson, and many others. In addition to hot dogs, drinks, giveaways, raffle prizes, vendor booths, games, fire trucks, and the Copsicle, the Denver Police Department will be distributing smart tracking devices and The Club for your car. Officers will also help you connect your car to the DPD tracking app. You’ll need to bring your car registration for the smart tag. Come out and strike up a conversation with those who serve and protect us. See you there!
Strengthening Registered Neighborhood Organizations (“RNOs”). Council Member Kashman is working with the administration and registered neighborhood associations like UpDoNA to strengthen RNOs, improve the way city government engages residents in the development of city policies, programs, and processes, and educate the public about RNOs. The future impact could be funds for RNOs to use for things like projects and operating expenses. Council Member Kashman is asking residents to participate in a survey about their involvement in their RNOs and what they would like to see from them in the future. To learn more and participate in the survey please use this link: https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Denver-City-Council/Your-City-Your-Voice
UpDoNA Polo Shirts. Thanks to Rob Squire and Jen Kellison for organizing our UpDoNA polo shirt sale. And, thanks to everyone who ordered a shirt. Please wear your shirt when volunteering on behalf of UpDoNA. Not only will you look sharp, but you will also promote UpDoNA and the great work that we all do for our neighborhood. If you missed your chance to order your shirt this time, don’t worry. We will be offering the sale several times a year.
State of the City Address: Gil Vondrasek, Jen Kellison, and I attended Mayor Johnston’s State of the City address on Monday, July 21st at the Seawell Ballroom. Several hundred people were in attendance.
During his address, Mayor Johnston spoke about Colorado’s history, where we’ve been and where we are going. He emphasized some of the accomplishments in his first two years: reducing unsheltered homelessness by 45%, including getting 7,000 people off the streets, providing 1,000 units of transitional housing, and getting 5,000 people into permanent housing, hiring 300 new Denver police officers, a 46% decrease in homicides, largest reduction of any top 50 U.S. city, the new Denver Permitting office, etc. And, Denver is on pace to add over 12,000 affordable homes across the city during his first term.
The Mayor also discussed the “revival” of downtown. The recently approved Downtown Development Authority Expansion is on track to bring $570m in downtown investment and will allow for seven million square feet of vacant office space to be converted into four million square feet of residential space. A dedicated downtown police unit is addressing downtown safety. The Denver Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office are working together to address Quality-of-Life crimes, including shoplifting and drug use, with a focus on enforcing laws and consequences. By years end, 50 new retail businesses will have opened downtown. Downtown restaurants are already reporting 30-100% increase in revenues.
Proof of revitalization can also be seen in the Colorado Convention Center numbers which are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels this year. Visit Denver recently released numbers indicating that meetings and convention business citywide is expected to generate over $980 million in economic impact. Richard Scharf, President and CEO of Visit Denver, stated in a press release that “Ongoing investments in both infrastructure and safety in our downtown area will continue to contribute to our sales efforts and drive business for years to come.” The convention center also drives another $308 million in economic impact from meetings and conventions held in hotels around Denver.
We also have a big role in downtown’s revitalization. Shop downtown, eat downtown, spend time in our parks and on 16th Street. Grab some friends, get some coffee, and spend time sitting on the furniture and enjoying our “Moments of Joy” along 16th Street. The more we activate downtown the safer and more vibrant it will be.
Have a wonderful end of summer! I will talk to you again in September.
Lisa L. Pope
President
Thumbnail attribution: Leo Marce
