Northglenn thornton sentinel 0725

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Sentinel Northglen 7.25.13

Northglenn -Thornton

July 25, 2013

50 cents

A Colorado Community Media Publication

ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com

Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 50

Old grocery store turning into school New America School moving into south Thornton By Tammy Kranz

tkranz@ourcoloradonews.com

Marco Dorado of Thornton holds a cake during an event at Westminster’s Front Range Community College campus on July 18. The event recognized legislators for their work on a bill that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities. Behind Dorado, from left to right, are state Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver; Metro State student Alejandra Delgado; Olivia Mendoza of the Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization; and Alvina Vasquez of Campaign for a Strong Colorado. Photos by Vic Vela

ASSET youths thank lawmakers State bill grants immigrants in-state tuition By Vic Vela

vvela@ourcoloradonews.com Undocumented youths held events statewide on July 18 to send Colorado lawmakers one message: Thank you. Immigrant students held celebrations with state legislators to say thanks for their roles in the passage of a bill earlier this year that allows undocumented students in Colorado the ability to attend state colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates. Senate Bill 33 was signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper in April. The socalled ASSET bill — Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow — allows all students to pay in-state tuition rates, so long as they are high school graduates who have attended a Colorado school for at least three years. The bill finally passed the Legislature after several unsuccessful attempts over a 10-year period. Celebratory events were held in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Longmont, and at the Westminster campus of Front Range Community College, where state Rep. Cherilyn Peniston told attendees that getting the bill through the General Assembly this year was a top priority. “You don’t go down to the legislature to represent laws, you go to represent people,” Peniston said. “And that’s what this bill meant for me.” Hannah Brown, a coordinator of outPOSTAL ADDRESS

Rep. Cherilyn Peniston, D-Westminster, listens as Rep. Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, speaks during an event that celebrated a law that allows undocumented students in Colorado to attend colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates. reach and enrollment at Front Range, said that prior to ASSET becoming a reality, she would have “difficult conversations” with immigrant students about the cost of attending college. But on the day that Hickenlooper signed the bill into law, Front Range campuses saw “several students coming in, asking about how to enroll,” Brown said. “It’s really been a much more positive conversation with those students because

we can offer them much more opportunities than we have in the past,” Brown said. The law aims to help students like Sonia Gutierrez, who lives in Westminster. Gutierrez came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was two years old. She didn’t realize, until she was 16, that she was undocumented. “How do you explain that to a child?” Gutierrez said, who recalled her parents

More progress is being made with the city’s efforts to revitalize the southern portion of Thornton. Charter Stone Capital announced on July 9 that it has acquired and is redeveloping the former Albertsons’ grocery store at 88th Avenue and Washington Street. The company is converting the 38,000-square-foot building, which has been vacant since 2006, into a state-ofthe art charter high school, New America School. “We are extremely excited to embark on this redevelopment project which we believe will provide many benefits for local Thornton area residents,” said Michael Searls, president and chief investment officer of Charter Stone Capital. “The completed building will not only provide a beautiful, safe, and much needed permanent home for New America School’s Denver campus, but will also enhance the aesthetic of the local neighborhood and provide a catalyst for additional redevelopment throughout the surrounding community.” According to Chris Molison, the city’s development director, the redevelopment of the building has already sparked interest in the entire shopping area, approximately 19 acres. “It’s big enough to house a variety of uses,” he said. He added those uses could be office space, small retail and multifamily housing. “It wouldn’t surprise me if something takes off in the near future.” Workers have already started renovation of the building, and work should be finished by 2014. The gut renovation of the building will include both interior and exterior improvements. “The school will move into the building upon completion of the renovation this December over their holiday break,” said Stephanie Cusack with Charter Stone Capital. “The school will operate in another location for the first half of the 2013-14 school year.” Cusack said expected enrollment is more than 400 students. Molison said 400 students at that school could spark additional revenue for surrounding retail and restaurants. He said the redevelopment of the building would have both short- and long-term benefits to that neighborhood and the city as a whole. Charter Stone Capital is a real estate investment fund focused on the acquisition and development of education related real estate.

‘It wouldn’t surprise me if something takes off in the

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NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL

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near future.’ Chris Molison

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