February 26, 2016
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Senior center to discuss housing proposal Preliminary plan would pair residences, activities center By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Parker Senior Center board of directors will discuss a proposal that incorporates a new senior center into a housing project for aging residents. The board will discuss the proposal
at a membership meeting at 12:30 p.m. March 15 at the Parker Senior Center. It will be attended by those representing the preliminary proposal, which was first discussed in a meeting at the center Pickert last month. If approved by members and, later, town officials, the project would be built on the current Parker Senior Center site
at 10675 Longs Way, near downtown Parker. The initial concept design is for a fourstory building. The senior center would occupy the main floor of the building and apartment homes would be on the second through fourth floors. It would increase the amount of space from roughly 8,000 square feet to 11,000 square feet, said Marty Pickert, a Parker resident who is trying to build community interest in affordable senior housing. The developer,
Community Capital Corp., would pay for construction of the senior center, provide it with maintenance and pay $2 million. The senior housing would be for rent and available for seniors who qualify for affordable housing. A one-bedroom would rent for about $750 a month and a two-bedroom for $875. The development team will apply for funds from the Colorado Housing and Center continues on Page 9
School district eyes Parker library space Town says notice letter did not follow statute By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Bill Gripman, of Parker, accepts the Parker Impact Award Feb. 23 on behalf of his wife, Nancy, who passed away in December. Photo by Chris Michlewicz
Gripman wins Parker Impact Award Three nominees have different backgrounds, but similar love for community By Chris Michlewicz cmichlewicz@colorado communitymedia.com Each year, the Rotary Club of Parker nominates a handful of people for the Parker Impact Award, an honor that goes to those who exemplify Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.” The award went to Nancy Gripman during the State of the Town Feb. 23 at
Nancy Gripman, center, who founded the Parker Task Force, helped officials break ground on the new task force location in 2014. File photo
the PACE Center. Gripman devoted many of her later years to helping people in need in Parker and around the world. Last year’s Impact Award winners were Carl and Shirley Hanson, founders of the Praying Hands Ranch equine therapy nonprofit east of Parker. Gripman’s fellow nominees for the Parker Impact Award continues on Page 9
A procedural snag has delayed a proposal to use the Parker Library space for a school once the library moves into its new building downtown. The Douglas County School District proposed a new K-8 school that will be modeled after Plum Creek Academy, which caters to high school students with emotional and behavioral needs. The district’s effort to purchase the 20,285-square-foot space in the Parker Crossroads Shopping Center at South Parker Road and Mainstreet was halted by a lack of compliance with state law. Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate services firm for Denver-area corporations and investors, sent an email Nov. 11 to Parker’s deputy community development director, Steve Greer, to notify the Town of Parker that the school district Property continues on Page 7
PIN TO WIN Ponderosa freshman wrestler makes big statement at state meet on PAGE 21.
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