July 21, 2016
BLOCK IS HOT
VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 49
Neighborhood parties can be a good way to bring people together. PAGE 12
LakewoodSentinel.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Belmar’s new senior facility taking shape Memory care and individual units to be available By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com From the massive dirt mounds to the concrete foundation to the skeletons of structure, the Village at Belmar senior living facility is rising out of the the once vacant nine-acre site across from Belmar and Lakewood City Commons. And it’s drawing attention. “Because it’s a you-can’t-miss-it construction project near one of the metro area’s busiest intersections, we get calls and emails about the project on an almost daily
basis,” Nanette Neelan, Lakewood’s economic development director and deputy city manager, wrote in an email interview. “Of course, the three-story building on Alameda attracts a lot of peoples’ attention.” Village at Belmar is a premium senior living, 156 residential-unit project with 60 independent living and 96 memory care and assisted living units. The independent living flats will be in units separate from the memory care to increase the feeling of individuality for residents. According to information provided by Stacie Oulton, Lakewood’s public information officer, Lakewood is one of the oldest cities in the region covered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments. The senior population is expected
to increase by 78 percent by 2025, according to the Community Assessment Survey of Older Adults in 2015 performed for DRCOG.So, by 2025, seniors will make up 31 percent of Lakewood’s population. “Having a range of housing options for older adults is extremely important because this segment of our population is going to grow significantly in the coming years,” said Dawn Sluder, Lakewood’s older adult and transportation supervisor. “Many older adults won’t be able to maintain their single-family homes, and they will need places that are close to stores, doctors, transportation and other services they need. That kind of housing will help older adults live independently.” Belmar continues on Page 8
The Village at Belmar, a premiere senior living project across from Belmar and Lakewood City Commons. The project is helmed by Ascent Living Communities, and will feature 60 independent living and 96 memory care units. Photo by Clarke Reader
CADDY CULTURE HERE TO STAY Guidance and gracious assistance standing by. PAGE 18
Jefferson County Public Schools plumber Joe Centeno changes some of the water lines leading to a sink in Peck Elementary on July 15. The Arvada-area school was found to have 10 water fixtures that tested high for lead. The school is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and Centeno said some of the fixtures he had changed out looked to be at least a couple decades old. “The way they had it piped back in the day was proper,” but times change, Centeno said. Photo by Glenn Wallace
BILL ARMSTRONG REMEMBERED
Lead abatement begins Lakewood’s Hutchinson cleared, but Welchester Elementary tests high By Glenn Wallace gwallace@coloradocommunitymedia.com A recent sunrise saw Joe Centeno, a maintenance plumber with Jefferson County schools,
already busy at work at Arvada’s Peck Elementary, changing out water cutoffs, connector lines and fixtures in hopes of improving the water quality. The district’s effort to test water outlets at all 158 schools for high lead levels found 10 elevated level sites at the 50-year-old school — a sink in the teachers’ lounge, three sinks in the kitchen and six classroom sinks, some of which had
bubbler drinking attachments. “This is the guinea pig,” Centeno said. “We’ll see if this works.” His best guess as a plumber was that the repairs should fix the problem, based on the scattered lead readings, as opposed to schoolwide contamination that would have required more extensive and expensive replumbing. Belmar continues on Page 5
The President of Colorado Christian University remembered, PAGE 7 Photo by Alex DeWind
August 11 - 14 2016 Jeffco Fairgrounds
See ya there!
CelebrateJeffco.com