1) Sprouts Update

Sprouts has announced its new store will open Wednesday, August 19 at 7am. Daily hours will be 7am to 10pm. Every shopper on opening day will receive a free reusable shopping bag with purchase. Customers can also sign up to win a $500 Sprouts gift card at https://www.sprouts.com/store/co/stapleton/central-park-blvd/

 

According to their press release they are implementing steps to promote social distancing and have installed plexiglass barriers at registers and are doing more frequent cleaning of high-touch areas such as service counters, restrooms, carts and checkout lanes.

2) Lots of New Apartments Coming to 80238

Two-hundred-eighty apartments recently opened at Solana Stapleton, located just across Peoria from the Anschutz Medical Campus. The one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury apartment complex offers multiple amenities for residents, including club house, pool, fitness center, beer garden and co-working space.

The same developer, ReyLenn Properties from California, has filed plans with the City of Denver to build an additional 500+ apartments in two locations in 80238. One proposed apartment project will be just north of the old control tower formerly occupied by Punch Bowl Social at Central Park Blvd. and E. 32nd Ave. The proposed four-story project would have 307 units.

The other ReyLenn proposal is also a four-story project—this one with 246 units located in Beeler Park at E. 56th Ave. and Boston Court.

Another developer, Price Development Group from Kansas City, has proposed a building with approximately 300 units at the southeast corner of MLK and Central Park Blvd. Plans call for the south and east sides of the building, which face residences, to be three stories, while the north- and west- facing sides of the building will be five stories.

3) Johnson & Wales Closing

JWU’s Board of Trustees in late June announced it would close the Denver campus at Montview and Quebec effective summer 2021. As a result, the campus is not allowing any new students in the 2020-21 academic year; would-be students have been referred to the university’s Charlotte, NC and Providence, RI campuses instead. JWU’s press release on the closing indicated that the university was shifting to become “a more comprehensive university that is focused on a broader array of academic offerings.” It remains unclear what will be next for the neighborhood campus, which has had many incarnations. As plans for the site become available, we will update readers. In the meantime, for more information, see https://www.jwu.edu/sustainablefuture/

4) The Exchange at Boulevard One in Lowry

The Exchange at Boulevard One, located at Lowry Blvd. and Quebec, held its topping-out ceremony in June. Discussions with specialty grocers and alternative general merchandise retail anchors are underway, according to Celeste Tanner, chief development officer of Confluent Development. The project will also have smaller retailers including a café, eateries, and fitness businesses. “We anticipate having an update on named tenants by late summer,” Tanner said by email. And despite the pandemic, on-schedule completion of the 135,000 sq ft initial phase is anticipated for the spring of 2021. The project broke ground in April 2019.

The full Boulevard One neighborhood is 70 acres; this 200,000-square-foot mixed-use project is located within the larger Boulevard One neighborhood and will have about 500 parking spaces, including a 231-stall underground parking garage, bicycle and scooter parking and electric car charging stations.

Confluent Development and Kelmore Development are the project co-owners and co-developers. Brinkman Construction is the general contractor and Open Studio Architecture designed the project. The project has been a collaborative vision with support from the Denver Urban Renewal Authority and Lowry Redevelopment Authority.

5) Denver Days Parades

Denver Days, originally created to bring neighbors together, has changed from block parties and gatherings to a 2-mile parade in each council district to accommodate physical distancing during the pandemic.

In District 8 (neighborhoods north of Colfax), the parade will be held Sunday, August 9 from 2–4pm. It will begin and end at the Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being, 3401 Eudora St, Denver. The route heads west from the parking lot to Dahlia St, turns south on Dahlia to 29th Ave, turns east on 29th to Holly St, then north on Holly to E 35th Ave and west on 35th Ave to Eudora St.

In District 5 (neighborhoods south of Colfax), the parade will be held on Monday, August 3, from 6–8pm. It will begin and end at Lindsley Park. The route heads west on E 12th Ave to Clermont St, turns north on Clermont to E 14th Ave, turns east on E. 14th Ave to Holly St, then goes south on Holly to E 12th Ave, west on E. 12th, and ends at Lindsley Park.

State Update

CO Ban on Large-Capacity Magazines is Legal

After the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, the Colorado legislature, in 2013, enacted HB1224, a ban on large-capacity magazines (LCMs). Rocky Mountain Gun Owners sued, alleging it violated their right “to keep and bear arms in defense of [a person’s] home, person and property,” as stated in the Colorado Bill of Rights.

The June 29, 2020 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court said the plaintiffs failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that HB 1224 violates the state constitutional right to bear arms and held that HB 1224 is a reasonable exercise of the police power that has neither the purpose nor effect of nullifying the right to bear arms in self-defense as provided by the Colorado Constitution. The court noted it leaves available ample weapons for self-defense and said the right to bear arms is not an unlimited right and is subject to reasonable regulation.