A new patio restaurant in Civic Center Park is just a taste of what’s in store for downtown Denver, city leaders announced Wednesday.
The big picture: The Downtown Development Authority, in partnership with Mayor Mike Johnston, is pouring $100 million into 10 projects designed to revive Denver’s struggling core.
- It’s the first round of investments since voters expanded the downtown taxing district last fall, unlocking access to $570 million in bonds — a financing strategy that helped bankroll Union Station about a decade ago.
Zoom in: Big-ticket items include:
- Housing: $31.5 million to help convert two historic office buildings — Symes and University — into 236 housing units with ground-floor retail.
- Redevelopment: $23 million to acquire two parking lots flanking Glenarm Place at the Denver Pavilions block on 15th Street for private redevelopment and improved affordable parking.
- Public spaces: $30 million to overhaul Civic Center Park with new lighting, tree canopy, walkways and infrastructure. Another $7 million will transform the McNichols Building at Civic Center Park into a restaurant, arts marketplace and museum.
What they’re saying: This is DDA’s opportunity “to bring catalytic, transformational change to downtown Denver” and “create a real sense of place and economic revitalization in our city center,” chair Doug Tisdale said at a news briefing Wednesday…