SILVER PLUME

Doug acquired multiple mining claims from his father in Clear Creek County, but Mendota Mine in Silver Plume was always his “pride and joy,” Rutzebeck said.

“ e family believes he would be happy to see its heritage preserved,” Rutzebeck said.

e swath of land the town has purchased holds signi cance for

Stories on Stage “An Afternoon with best-selling author Peter Heller” at 2 p.m. Feb. 19 at Su Teatro, 721 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. Actors Tim McCracken and Allison Watrous will read from Heller’s books and Heller will read from his novel “ e Dog Stars” and stay for a discussion afterwards. A virtual premiere will be available at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 and can be watched after that date. See storieonstage.org. Note: Su Teatro requires masks. For in-person attendees, there will be an on-call list at the the residents, both in its history and future. e area is also home to a bighorn said. “And you can’t expect a developer to build something and lose money.” front table.

“Silver mining is what built the town of Silver Plume,” said Silver Plume Mayor Sam McCloskey.

McCloskey has a personal connection to the area as well.

“It’s near and dear to me because I had several of my ancestors who worked these mines,” he said.

McCloskey likened the land purchase to a 200-acre museum, due to all the historical signi cance the area holds.

Littleton Symphony

Littleton Symphony will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 with guest conductor Brandon Matthews. Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 S. Datura St., Littleton. Tickets: 303-9336824, littletonsymphony.org.

Wonderbound

“Reckoning at the Red Herring Tavern,” a new creation by Wonderbound dance company Artistic Direc- sheep herd, which the land purchase will protect by designating the area as open space.

Cynthia Neely was the project manager helping to facilitate the land purchase. She explained the area is part of the Georgetown-Silver Plume National Landmark District, which has the purpose of preserving the history of silver mining in the area.

“For 30 years, one of the goals of the historic agencies in the district has been to secure the mountainsides in the districts,” Neely said.

Not only does this 200-acre land tor Garrett Ammon, features original classic dance music by Tom Haggerman of DeVotchKa. March 2-12. Location: 3865 Grape St., Unit 2, Denver. 303-292-4700, wonderbound.com. Note — some performances are sold out.

Town Hall purchase include the iconic Mendota Mine, but the sites of an estimated 20 mines that saw active operation in the 19th century, according to Neely. that government must provide the needed funding to bolster the supply side of the housing market.

Next at Town Hall Arts Center: “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Feb. 17-March 19. 2450 W. Main St., Littleton. 303-794-2787, ext. 5, townhallartscenter.org.

Neely hoped that beyond the preservation of the cultural remnants of the mines and the protection of nature, the area could become a space for people to learn about the rich history of Silver Plume.

“We want to share a story,” she said.

Now, the town waits for the completion of the conservation easement of the area, which will likely take a few more months due to weather.

“We do things (on) the supply side, but it’s not enough,” Throupe

Spending from higher levels of government could benefit in particular the suburbs, which are struggling with housing affordability but have less political appetite to tackle the problem themselves, Freemark said.

“Ultimately, the most exclusionary places, which are often suburbs, have no incentive to invest in affordable housing” because “they don’t see affordable housing as (needed) by their residents,” Freemark said.

That said, creating housing affordability for key workers like teachers, police and firefighters is an important part of the puzzle for communities, Throupe said.

“You lose your teachers, and then you lose the quality of your schools, and it hurts the area. Same with police and fire,” Throupe said.

In the larger business community, housing plays a crucial role too, Polis said.

“Coloradans have to be able to afford to live in our communities where they can earn a good living, and companies need to be able to find the workers they need to thrive,” he said in the speech.

‘We are not California’

The governor’s one-liner when speaking about housing — “We are not California. We are Colorado” — raises the question of where the state could be headed if it doesn’t change course.

Net migration, the difference between the number of people coming into and the number of people leaving an area, has long been positive in Colorado. In 2015, net migration was about 69,000 people, according to the State Demography Office. Although the number reached a recent pre-pandemic low in 2019 with about 34,000, newcomers are still flowing in.

“There are (home) buyers moving in from out of state, and many of them come from higher-priced areas, so they don’t have sticker shocks,” Throupe said, speaking to the sustained high demand and high prices in metro Denver.

Looking to the future, Throupe doesn’t think the metro Denver housing market is on a similar trajectory that large metro areas such as New York City and San Francisco have experienced in terms of high housing prices.

“New York is a coastal city and a financial center — same with (several) California (cities), San Francisco. We’ll never be that. We’re our own animal,” Throupe said.

“The choice between those cities and Denver pricing-wise has been extreme; it’ll tighten up. It’ll never be their prices, but it’ll tighten up,” Throupe added.

Freemark noted that geographically, Denver has less of a physical barrier to new construction than in places like San Francisco — and that New York City is largely surrounded by water.

Rogers, the teaching assistant professor in the program for environmental design at CU Boulder, described the metro Denver housing market’s future in terms of uncertainty.

“I think that we are in a place we’ve never been before, so I can’t extrapolate the future from that,” Rogers said. “I feel like we’re in unknown waters.”