4 Life On Capitol Hill
November 2018
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This project on East 12th Avenue and Grant Street is one of several new developments going into the Capitol Hill area. Having more apartments available can bring down rent costs, said Curt Upton, a principal planner with the city of Denver. KAILYN LAMB
As developers build for more people, residents wonder what density will mean By Kailyn Lamb klamb@coloradocommunitymedia.com
D
enver is booming. The skyline is dotted with cranes assembling buildings that seemingly grow overnight. And more people are coming in to fill those buildings. Over the last 10 years, more than 100,000 people have moved to Denver County, according to data from the city and state. The growth of the city has some residents concerned about density as developers eye projects that will add more people — and mostly likely more cars — to areas like Capitol Hill that already struggle with parking. New development also has the potential to take away historic buildings, which residents worry will diminish the character of Capitol Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Growth in Denver In 2008, data from the state shows that the population of Denver County was 581,903. Now, the population of the city is sitting at around 705,000 people, estimated David Gaspers, a project manager for Blueprint Denver. Blueprint Denver was first adopted in 2002 to help the city plan for growth and new transportation. As part of the new Denveright initiative, which was announced by the city in August, Blueprint Denver has been updated to bring the city forward over the next 20 years. The plan estimates that Denver’s population will hit nearly 900,000 people by 2040. The plan is meant to help prepare for that growth strategically, with new developments centered around transit stations, Gaspers said. SEE GROWTH, P5
DENSITY AND POLICING Added density in east central Denver adds to the work of the Denver Police Department (DPD), which manages not only crime in the area, but parking as well. Officers are responsible for checking parking regularly. There are pros and cons to having more density, said Aaron Sanchez, a commander with District 6 of the DPD. A denser and more centralized district means that police can often respond to crimes faster. It also means that officers can use different methods of patrolling, such as bicycles, Sanchez said. “It gives us the opportunity to do some different kinds of policing,” he said. But there are problems too. The east
central area of Denver not only has a lot of residents, but it also has a high concentration of bars, Sanchez said. While its good that more people are starting to use ride-share companies such as Uber instead of driving drunk, Sanchez said, there’s also the logistics of where those cars go in order to not block traffic. Sanchez said that District 6 officers have been working with other districts that have seen similar density increases in order to see what was done well and what could have been done differently. District 6 currently covers East Sixth Avenue over to East 25th Avenue. On the east and west sides it goes from York Street over to the South Platte River in some areas.