Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season!
2025 was a good year for Downtown. 16th Street opened, foot traffic was within 92% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, office vacancies were trending downward, 65 new ground-floor businesses opened, and more people chose to live downtown. The Downtown Area Plan was approved, and the Downtown Denver Development Authority approved several projects in Upper Downtown.
In the first quarter of 2026, Leven’s Deli, Sundae’s flagship store, Two Lazy Dogs bar, and Green Spaces are scheduled to open. In addition, several other retail, restaurant, and entertainment businesses will open in Upper Downtown this year.
UpDoNA’s Year in Review: It was another busy year for UpDoNA. We continued our regular activities such as monthly clean ups, serving lunches at Urban Peak and the Delores Project, working on safety issues, publishing monthly newsletters, and organizing UNOs. In addition to that, UpDoNA held a meeting in February with the Denver Police Department to discuss the need for police presence on 16th Street, organized a self-defense class, provided comment and supported CM Hinds in scooter legislation, began work on the Welton pocket park, participated in the Kick-Off Weekend for 16th Street, held our annual meeting, the first official activation of Glenarm Plaza with special guests Mayor Johnston and CM Hinds, hosted another successful Downtown Denver National Night Out, participated in the Denver Police Department’s Trunk or Treat, received an award, supported several downtown projects, and held a Town Hall in December to discuss quality of life crimes and the homeless downtown suffering from mental health and drug addiction. Additionally, our membership continued to increase!
That list doesn’t begin to cover everything that we accomplished in 2025. Thanks to our members, committee chairs and committee members, volunteers, board of directors, and community partners for your support and hard work. UpDoNA is making a difference in our neighborhood!
UpDoNA Town Hall – Roads to Recovery: Thanks to everyone who attended the Town Hall on December 16th. We asked several hard-hitting questions including Mayor Johnston’s tougher stance on the unhoused who habitually commit crimes, laws that impede helping the unhoused on our streets suffering from mental health and drug addiction, lack of treatment facilities and funding for same, quality of life crime enforcement and prosecution, and more.
There was a general feeling that some of the panelists were more focused on long-term solutions and prevention, which are needed, rather than on the immediate need to address the daily issues that impact residents, businesses, and visitors. After the first of the year, we will begin scheduling meetings with the Mayor’s office and other city and state leaders to have in depth discussions about the issues and short-term solutions.
The Town Hall was recorded for those of you who could not attend. To hear the audio, please visit our website at https://updona.org/. Use the Community information/Archives link. Scroll down to Video Archive and click on “12/16/2025 UpDoNA Town Hall – Safe & Thriving Downtown: Compassion + Accountability.”
UpDoNA Received an Award: On Monday, December 8th, I was invited to attend LoDo District’s holiday party at Water Grill. During the event, UpDoNA was presented with a Neighborhood Champion award for the work that we do in the community. LoDo District is an RNO that has been established for 40 years representing businesses in lower downtown. Thanks to LoDo District Chairs Marty Steinberg and Richard Farley for recognizing UpDoNA. It was an honor to receive the award on behalf of UpDoNA. (LoDoNA also received a Neighborhood Champion award.)
Denver Police Department Kiosk – Republic Plaza. In the first quarter of 2026, the Denver Police Department will be opening a kiosk on Republic Plaza next to Starbucks. Much like the DPD kiosk at Skyline Park, DPD officers will be there to do paperwork and to answer questions. However, at this much larger location, DPD is looking for volunteers who are interested in helping. Volunteers will distribute safety information, explain how to file police reports, answer downtown questions, and more. This will be similar to the ambassador, a/k/a yellow vest program, that Mayor Johnston had planned to start. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Rob Squire at robsquire@updona.org. This is another great opportunity to get involved in your neighborhood.
Thanks again for your hard work in making Upper Downtown a great neighborhood for all who live, work, and play here!
Let’s make 2026 a great year for Upper Downtown!
Lisa L. Pope
President
Thumbnail attribution: Leo Marce
