About Us

WHO IS UpDoNA?

UpDoNA is the city registered neighborhood organization (RNO) representing the residents and businesses in Upper Downtown Denver. As an RNO, UpDoNA is recognized by the city of Denver as a representative and advocate for the needs and desires of a given community.

In our case, that community is Upper Downtown, formerly known as the Central Business District. Our community is known for many of the sights and attractions that bring people to downtown including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Colorado Convention Center, Denver Pavilions and more.

But Upper Downtown is more than a place to visit, it’s also place many of us call home and where many others make their livelihood. And those needs are first and foremost to the UpDoNA mission (you can learn more about that below).

As you can see from the map, the UpDoNA boundaries encompass a large section of the downtown area, containing over 20 residential buildings, mixed with businesses, parks, cultural and entertainment venues.

The UPDoNA Purpose and Mission

UpDoNA’s purpose and mission is to be a partner and advocate for all those living and working in the Upper Downtown area, ensuring that we will always be one of the most sought after neighborhoods for residents, businesses and tourists. We will be an advocate for the community with the key goal of improving the downtown experience and overall quality of life for all Upper Downtown residents and businesses. We want to support the vision of the City and the Downtown Denver Partnership to bring a renewed focus to the quality of life in our community. To that end, our mission contains six key action items and objectives:

UPDONA HISTORY

UpDoNA was first envisioned in August of 2021 by a group of concerned citizens who saw a need for a stronger residential voice in Denver. Organizations already existed for neighborhoods surrounding us, but a residential influence in city matters for Upper Downtown was lacking. There was also a need for more community-oriented thinking among residents. While some residential buildings provided good social networks within those buildings, there was little interaction between them.

Those concerns led to the formation of a committee to investigate and to lay the groundwork for a Registered Neighborhood Organization with the City of Denver. At first, the committee was limited to residents of the Spire Condominium Building, but as word spread, other buildings became interested and participated. Work on the issues began even before the registration was completed – subcommittees were formed, bylaws were written, a website was initiated, letters were written to city leaders, connections were made with other nearby neighborhood associations, and the beginnings of alliances were formed, particularly with the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association. In December, 2021, application was made to the City of Denver for official recognition as a Registered Neighborhood Organization.

As time went on, there was a recognition that most of the issues that we were working on were as much a concern to the businesses of Upper Downtown as they were to the residents. UpDoNA expanded its focus, forming a branch of the membership committee that specifically targeted the needs of the business community. Again, word spread, beginning a steady stream of new business members.

Today, UpDoNA is equally focused on the needs and wants of the residents and businesses of Upper Downtown.