1) Construction Starts on MLK to Peoria

Work on a 1.1 mile extension of Martin Luther King Blvd (MLK) from Havana St. east to Peoria St. began in November and will continue until November 2019. The project includes:

• Two travel lanes each way and one parking lane in the eastbound direction,
• A raised median with landscaping.
• A paved bicycle/pedestrian path on both sides, with the north side also having a soft-surface equestrian trail.
• Moline St. to 26th Ave. to be rebuilt as a two-lane collector street.
• Three traffic signals: Kingston at MLK; Moline at MLK; 26th at MLK.
• Street lighting and signage for a 35-mile per hour speed limit.
• Construction impacts:
• Four to five lane closures will occur along MLK Blvd between March and July 2019.
• Access to residential neighborhoods will be maintained but delays could occur when equipment is working in front of entrances.
• Traffic control to be managed by Mortenson Construction from 7am to 5:30pm Monday through Friday.
• All work is weather dependent. Denver Public Works and Forest City will keep the public informed of any scheduling changes.

A map of the project is posted at FrontPorchNE.com. For more information, visit denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/denver-department-of-public-works/projects/current/mlk-boulevard-extension.html

2) Superintendent Search Update

The Front Porch asked DPS District 3 Board Member (Lowry and Montclair) Carrie Olson for her thoughts on the superintendent search process. “I’m glad I talked to as many people as I did. As a researcher, once you start to hear the same things over and over again you know you’re reaching what we call saturation. I started hearing the same things come up and I think they are represented in the report by Dimension Strategies.* I feel Dimension Strategies did a very good job of capturing everything I heard in all my visits.”

At the Nov. 15 Board meeting there were calls to meet the candidates. Olsen said she understands that desire, but she also wanted to be sure they saw the best candidates—and to do that they had to maintain confidentiality so those not chosen could go back to their jobs. Olson says she believes the two candidates announced on November 26 are the top two of all the interviewees. DPS will host opportunities to meet them on Dec. 4 & 5. Watch supersearch.dpsk12.org for details on those events.

*The reports are posted with this article at FrontPorchNE.com

3) New Shops at Montview and Central Park Blvd.

An 8,500 square foot building with three or four tenants is being planned for the corner of Montview and Central Park Blvd. Though no company name is being announced yet, the plan is to have a coffee shop with a drive-thru at the east end. One other food use is expected and one or two non-food retail uses. The front of the building and 43 parking spaces will be on the north side, accessed either from Central Park Blvd., or on the west via the road used to enter the existing gas station. Dense landscaping is planned along Montview to partially hide cars lined up for carry-out along the back of the building. Architect Scott Higa of G3 Architecture says neutral gray and silver tones are used on the exterior with some masonry at the drive-through.

4) New Shops at 56th and Central Park Blvd.

Site Plan Legend:
A – Hello Car Wash (4,791 SF) is family business coming from Texas. Hours will be dawn to dusk. The long narrow drive-thru building creates a buffer between residential in the north and the gas station
B – Gas station (2,800 SF), with canopy to the south
C – Quick-serve restaurant (2,200 SF)
D – Signed letter of intent from a daily-needs-type retail user (food & drug) for the whole space (7,862 SF). Designed so it also could be a multi-user building. Exterior décor will hide utilities and “dress up” side and back walls.
E – Marketing to “nice” sit-down restaurants at the ends with retail use between them (8,315 SF). Plaza at north end.
F & G – Retail/office buildings will be acquired by a local dentist for two separate practices (5,500 SF each).
H – Quick-serve restaurant
Childcare – New Horizons to be built by a different developer.

Tyler Carlson and Evergreen Development, which developed the Eastbridge Town Center, have again partnered with City Street Investors to do the leasing for The Shops at Beeler Park. Carlson says difficult access at the high traffic intersection has made the project a challenge. The median will be cut at 57th Ave. to create left turn access for southbound vehicles on Central Park Blvd. Access from 56th will be for westbound traffic only. Exits onto 56th and onto Central Park Blvd. will be right turns only. The color scheme of the buildings will be white and gray with black accents.

5) Forest City Sale to Brookfield Asset Management Approved

Forest City’s stockholders approved the acquisition of Forest City by Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a real estate investment fund, at a special meeting of stockholders on Nov. 15, pursuant to their merger agreement on July 30, 2018. With the approval by Forest City stockholders, Forest City expects that the acquisition will be completed by December 10, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions. Forest City Stapleton Senior Vice President Jim Chrisman said he does not know what staffing or office changes Brookfield might make, but he confirmed that Brookfield is contractually required to fulfill Forest City Stapleton’s existing obligations.

6) Committee to Recommend New Middle School

The Placement Committee to recommend one of three middle schools for North Stapleton has been named and posted on the DPS website at https://portfolio.dpsk12.org/2018/11/13/meet-the-members-of-the-gphs-placement-committee. They will make a recommendation to the board on Dec. 14.

Community members can give feedback to the committee at cnqs@dpsk12.org or directly to DPS Board members (at board@dpsk12.org) through December 20, when the Board will vote on the final selection. The new program will open in the 2019-20 school year at a temporary location in North Stapleton.

7) Punch Bowl Selected for Design Award

The 2018 Mayor’s Design Awards primarily recognized historic buildings this year, among them Punch Bowl Social at the old control tower in Stapleton. The award was well-deserved, with Punch Bowl’s commitment to take on such a monumental project and Oz Architecture’s vision to keep the historic aspects of the tower while giving it a modern look and reusing as much material as possible.

8) Stapleton’s Annual MCA Meeting /Delegate Election

At the annual Master Community Association meeting on Nov. 14, attended by about 100 people, Executive Director Keven Burnett reviewed what the MCA does and provided an overview of the budget. That information is available in a downloadable Power Point at StapletonCommunity.com.

The MCA is governed by a board that transacts the business of the MCA. The community is divided into 10 districts that each vote annually on a delegate. Delegates advise the MCA board and ratify the budget, including setting the monthly assessment. (For 2019, the monthly assessment for homes will remain at $43/month.)

At the meeting, delegates on the ballot introduced themselves. Many of the incumbents said they stepped up when their seats were vacant and in need of someone to take the position. This year, however, eight of the delegate seats were contested. The eight new candidates were part of a slate that supports changing the name of the community.

Election results are posted on the MCA website, but just as the Dec. paper was going to the printer, the Rename St*pleton For All Group informed us that two pro-rename candidates are contesting the outcome of their districts. Further information will be posted on the Front Porch website as we learn more.