by Valley Gadfly | Mar 28, 2025 | Main Articles
As Civic Center’s Next 100 Plan Gets Set To Start, Hope Is Change Will Enliven City Core, Reduce Crime
by Glen Richardson
Civic Center Today: Civic Center Park was constructed in 1917 as an open stage with murals by local artist Allen Tupper True.
By creating a civic renaissance of sorts, Denver hopes the makeover of Civic Center Park at the intersection of Colfax Ave. and Broadway — one of the Mile High City’s five crime hotspots — will help bring people back and turn around downtown.
The park is currently little more than a threadbare notion of civic grandeur that few people use besides the homeless and skateboarders. With constant growth of the Golden Triangle neighborhood as the 16th Street Mall renovation nears completion, Civic Center Park will connect the two and optimistically serve as a gathering spot for events and festivals.
In early 2024, Denver Parks & Recreation contracted with Studio Gang to lead the Phase 1 design of the Civic Center “Next 100” plan. Proposed changes include improvements to the Greek Theater, Central Promenade, and South Plaza. The Landmark Preservation Committee approved the initial design plans on January 21 of this year.
Boost Daily Use
Civic Center Park is Denver’s first National Historic Landmark, and city leaders say honoring its history is critical to its future. Furthermore, they believe the park needs to accommodate its traditional uses while also encouraging increased daily use.
Modifications and alterations being proposed include to Bannock Street, the Greek Amphitheater, Central Promenade, plus a new “central gathering” feature th
Seating Shift: A rendering of new seating for the Greek Theater in Civic Center Park. The curved stairs in the bowl will be removed, which some experts say is a historical feature. City & County of Denver photo
at has yet to be developed. Parks & Recreation requested and has received comment and suggestions from the public as they get ready to begin the major transformation.
Located at the heart of the city and surrounded by key civic and cultural institutions, Civic Center Park has in the past, and is expected to continue serving as a significant gathering spot for cultural events, festivals, and First Amendment rallies.
Makeover Features
The makeover will feature good-looking greenspaces, improved pedestrian access, and community event sites to attract increased usage. Direction that the theater’s audience faces will change from south to north. In addition to the direction the audience faces, the stage’s openings change from northward to south. A new stage is being added near the park’s center; thus, the amphitheater bowl will function in reverse of how it does currently.
More importantly, a new food truck promenade is being added. Furthermore, landscapers are creating fresh, innovative garden spaces. Finally, a memori
Proposed Remodel: A rendering of the proposed changes to the Greek Theater in Denver’s Civic Center Park designed by globally-renowned architectural firm Studio Gang. City & County of Denver photo
al to disability activists of the Gang of 19 will be installed.
Civic Center Park’s new designs are being created by Studio Gang, a Chicago-based architecture and urban design practice. Studiotrope Design Collective — the Denver-based architect firm that designed Levitt Pavilion and upgrades to the new Central Library — are assisting with the design project. Landscaping is being done by Philadelphia’s OLIN with assistance from Tina Bishop of Denver’s Mundus Bishop.
Small Crowd Design
Significantly, the new park designs are being created to allow for increased individual, daily use versus the huge events of the past. You’ll recall, the park has hosted everything from sports championship parades to the massive Denver PrideFest, and Cinco de Mayo Festival. With the downsize of events, park features are being spread across a broader area of the park.
This time the designers want the space more usable for events that serve 1,000 people or fewer. That will make events more cost-effective for community groups using the space. Moreover, audiovisual infrastru
Disability Honor: Rendering of Studio Gang’s memorial commemorating Denver’s Gang of 19 disability advocates for Civic Center Park.
cture is being added within the park.
Although the structure around the amphitheater bowl is a historic landmark, the bowl of the theater was rebuilt in 2004 and is no longer considered historic, so adding seats and altering its orientation is allowed. The new stage will be opposite the current theater stage, with an arch cover over the stage.
Stage Of Steel
The arch over the new stage will be made mostly of steel, but Studio Gang designers are still deciding on the material to use. The goal is to use material between the steel beams that allows some light to pass through the structure.
The updated design also includes new seats. They will be built in a radial pattern that can be opened or closed based on the size of the event. Visitors will also be able to sit inside the historic colonnade walls of the amphitheater. The seating will also be used by those having lunch at events such as Civic Center EATS. In addition to the seats, people can use the stage area for yoga classes and other activities, not just musical performances.
Another park upgrade is that the amphitheater bowl will be wheelchair accessible, with properly sloped pathways around the outer edge of the amphitheater plus the main seating bowl. Those paths will connect all the way to the southern plaza, something that currently is not possible for those who use wheelchairs.
Southern Plaza Facelift
Voorhies Memorial: Memorial in Civic Center Park was home to a temporary art display in honor of 2020 World Day of Remembrance.
A facelift is also being given to the southern plaza near East 14th Ave. A memorial is being created to honor the Gang of 19 — disability activists led by Reverend Wade Blank that ditched their wheelchairs and crawled onto then-inaccessible RTD buses at Colfax and Broadway in 1978.
Those demonstrations caused RTD to become the first mass transit system in the nation to be fully wheelchair-accessible.
The memorial will feature a large central feature bearing the words “we will ride,” as well as seating, trees, and other information about the Gang of 19.
Promenade Plans
Aside from the amphitheater and the space directly around it, the north-south promenade across the park will be revamped, as will several other of the park amenities.
The promenade is currently the only active space in the park. That causes crowding in the one area, while much of Civic Center’s 12-acre urban oasis isn’t used nearly enough. Garden rooms on the east and west sides of the promenade will reorient current planting plots which are now only on the west side of the promenade.
Finally, a new public garden walk will be placed on the southwest side of the park between the Greek Theater and the City & County Building. Both spaces will be planted with year-round or perennial foliage. Current gardens are effective, but not accessible to the public from the promenade.
by Jessica Hughes | Mar 28, 2025 | Main Articles
by Jessica Hughes
Inside Gables Vista where bullet holes ripped through the lobby. Resident photo
No matter the price tag for rent, renter’s rights still matter. Gables Vista apartments in Cherry Creek, where rent prices average $2,000 per month, has garnered much criticism from its residents. Built in 2020, it only took the property five years to rack up a myriad of safety and habitability concerns. When a local resident first moved in, she described the building as being very safe, upscale, and, in general, had a positive initial experience. But in the last two years, things have changed and not for the better.
The first incidence of note she remembers took place in November 2023 with a drive-by shooting in front of the property. Since then, she had heard about cars getting broken into at the property over the last year, packages stolen from the front desk, and the concierge’s car stolen in 2024 from the guest parking lot. With crime ramping up at the property, she said she felt like the management team wasn’t being proactive enough in preventing these crimes.
But the most recent drive-by shooting on June 29, 2024, frightened her the most when multiple shots were fired into the lobby and ricocheted into a fourth-floor apartment. According to several residents, the family member of another resident had invited people into the building for a party, who were identified as aggressive and harassing other residents — despite the property’s policy of only two guests per resident at the pool and other public amenities spaces. After eventually being kicked out, the party crew continued out front harassing others and then that’s when roughly 20 shots were fired into the building.
The bullet holes shot into the building were left without repair for months and communication from management about the incident lacked empathy and any real concern for their safety according to residents. Despite safety concerns and expressed needs for additional security, she says management never implemented any additional safety enhancements like 24/7 security, even though management claimed an increase in patrol which she never witnessed.
In addition to safety concerns, the property experienced a slew of maintenance issues, including a carbon monoxide leak with little to no communicat
Interior damage at Gables Vista residents were forced to live amongst for days. Photo from Google reviews: Roy Ben Tzvi
ion from management, a gas leak and building-wide gas shut down leaving residents with no access to hot water or gas ranges for several days, and failed pipe repairs that caused two floods in the building’s 4th floor and 3rd floor parking garage, which prompted some residents to call the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Beyond our interview with this particular resident, a simple search on Google for Gables Vista reveals numerous one-star Google reviews from residents who have plenty to say about living conditions at this property. Some include: “Want bullet holes in your lobby doors for 3 months? Broken elevators and hot tubs that take 1-2 months to fix? Broken fridges take 2.5 months to fix? This was all in the last 6 months — been here for 3+ years and Gables Vista has become unlivable. Don’t recommend to anyone and will be leaving as soon as we can,” said Max Carlson from Google Reviews.
Another review from Evan Haas said, “Such a shame. New staff every week because they’re tired of tenants complaining about all of the things wrong with the building. Management refuses to address anything. Since the summer we’ve had break ins, cars stolen, drive by shootings, multiple water pipe leaks (not even winter), gas leaks, and the only hot tub has been down for a total of 4 months. And if you try to leave, they force you to pay to break your lease.”
4th floor flood at Gables Vista that left residents in peril for days. Photo from Google reviews: Roy Ben Tzvi
The reviews continue warning others, “DO NOT move in here,” each coupled with photos and videos of tenants walking through inches of water from the flooding on the 4th floor.
The living conditions at Gables Vista got so bad that she reached out to the building inspector with the City and County of Denver, the CDPHE, and the office of councilwoman Amanda Sawyer explaining their concern for safety and habitability issues. Also trying to understand their legal rights as renters, she sought out information from the Colorado Poverty Project. Providing insight into the Warranty of Habitability, a specialist from the CPP cited…
“Under C.R.S. 38-12-503(3), if a tenant finds their residential premises uninhabitable due to a condition, notifies the landlord, and the landlord doesn’t respond within the specified timeframes (14 days for regular issues, 7 days for urgent ones), it’s presumed the landlord breached the lease. Then, it’s up to the landlord to prove otherwise.”
“According to C.R.S. 38-12-503(4) as modified as of May 3, 2024, if a condition seriously affects the tenant’s life, health, or safety, the landlord must offer alternative housing at the request of the tenant and at no cost to the tenant within 24 hours from that request. This housing should be like the tenant’s current place (including the same number of beds as the uninhabitable unit) and within 5 miles of the uninhabitable unit. The landlord is responsible for paying reasonable costs and a per diem for expenses that the tenant needs to pay to relocate to the alternative housing. If the alternative housing is needed for more than 48 hours, the landlord must either provide a kitchen setup or offer a daily allowance for m
Building windows at Gables Vista sat unfixed for months after the shooting in June 2024. Photo from Google reviews: Max Carlson
eals and expenses.”
Residents say they received an email from management offering to reimburse for a day at Colorado Athletic Club to shower when water had been shut off for 12 hours due to a pipe repair, with no indication of when the water would be turned back on. And when an entire floor flooded, residents were sent emails stating they would not be put up into hotel rooms or reimbursed for food or other needs. Despite Colorado law, it appears on a few occasions that Gables Vista failed its tenants.
Amidst all of these issues, residents also learned the lease had been recently revised to not include a lease-break option, a $100 lease change fee was added as well as an extra charge for maintenance, and a $100 admin fee to renew your lease. One resident even reported her checking account information was removed from the pay platform leaving her with only debit or credit options, which charge a fee.
All of this has left current residents wondering “What’s next?”
Gables Vista sits at 375 S. Jackson St. in Cherry Creek. The 12-story property holds around 250 units and is owned and operated under Gables Residential. When asked how Gables Vista management was handling these issues, they declined to comment.
by Mark Smiley | Mar 28, 2025 | Main Articles
Tickets For The Wednesday Evening Concert Series Are On Sale Now
by Mark Smiley
July 16: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell, featuring vocals by Front Range mainstays, Liz Barnez, Rebecca Folsom, and Celeste Krenz. This concert sold out Swallow Hill’s 300 seat room in the fall, and the band is excited to bring it outdoors this summer.
Music and memories go hand in hand. Hearing a beloved song from our youth can transport us back in a way few other things can, while creating new memories in the process.
Swallow Hill Music is proud to announce the return of tribute concerts at Four Mile Historic Park on Wednesday evenings this June and July. The concerts will start on June 4 and run every Wednesday until July 16. The Denver-based music nonprofit introduced its lineup of tribute shows last summer and music lovers responded in record-breaking numbers, creating a multigenerational experience — and memories — in the process.
Picking up on last summer’s momentum, this year’s lineup welcomes U2 tribute band Bullet The Blue Sky, Fleetwood Mac tribute Rumours, Santana tribute Santa Rios, and Rolling Harvest, a Bob Dylan-Neil Young tribute.
Returning to the concert series are Denver’s venerable Grateful Dead tribute band Shakedown Street, and Sugar Britches with their John Prine tribute show.
Rounding out the lineup is A Tribute to Joni Mitchell, featuring vocals by Front Range mainstays, Liz Barnez, Rebecca Folsom, and Celeste Krenz. This concert easily sold out Swallow Hill’s 300 seat room in the fall, and the band is excited to bring it outdoors this summer.
Pack a picnic dinner and spread out on the lawn at Four Mile Historic Park to take in a night of unforgettable music in a family-friendly setting. Outside food & non-alcoholic drinks and coolers are allowed, but outside alcohol is not permitted. An onsite bar will be available.
The Wednesday night concerts begin at 6:30 p.m., with Four Mile Historic Park opening at 5:30 p.m.
See the full lineup and get complete details on the website mentioned below. As a nonprofit, ticket purchases to all Swallow Hill productions help support bringing more music to the Denver metro community through concerts, as well as our music classes and music in preschool programs. Thank you for supporting summer concerts with Swallow Hill Music.
Visit swallowhillmusic.org//four-mile for a complete schedule and for tickets. Tickets are $20 and $15 for Swallow Hill and Four Mile Members. Kids ages 4-12 are $10, children 3 and under are free. Four Mile Historic Park is located at 715 S. Forest Street in Denver.
