All the News About Denver’s Best Residential Community Since 1961 • Volume 56, Issue No. 12 • December 2017
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The board of Greater Park Hill Community has voted to oppose a proposed land swap that would hand a developer a parcel of land that was slated to become a small neighborhood park. The developer of the east side of Fairfax Street between 28th and 29th avenues proposed last year the city give him the former Xcel substation property on the west side of the street. In exchange, the developer, Ben Maxwell of HM Capital, would incorporate a park space in the middle of his residential and commercial development project on the east side of the street. Maxwell wants
Everything Old Is New Again
to use the former Xcel substation property as surface parking for now and eventually build on it later. Many residents living nearby – along with representatives of the Greater Park Hill Community neighborhood association – have been critical. Among their concerns: • The proposed park, situated in the middle of the upscale development project, would not feel welcoming to residents living nearby. • The city operated in secret to craft the deal with the developer without notifying residents or the neighborhood association – even after several people asked they be informed of developments.
• The city would be all but giving away a valuable piece of property for the primary benefit of the developer, rather than keeping its original promise of building a neighborhood park on the former Xcel property. In fact, the developer indicated a desire to “gentrify” the area when he initially reached out to the city seeking support for the project. The threat of being pushed out of the neighborhood has mobilized many in this diverse area of Park Hill. GPHC’s Nov. 2 vote to oppose the land swap was 14 in favor, one against, and one abstaining. continued on page 17
By Cara DeGette Editor, GPHN
continued on page 9
East High Boys Fall To Broomfield 1-0
Thanks To You, 326 Thanksgiving Meals Served
Park Hill Vet: Santa Claws Came Early
UPCOMING GPHC MEETINGS Thursday, Jan.4, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at 2823 Fairfax St. All are welcome to attend. There is no meeting in December.
SCHOOLS UPDATE Lynn Kalinauskas
A Wild Ride Big Money Loses In Park Hill School Board Races
Mom-Daughters Trio Back On The Pie Beat At Oblio’s
In May, 2016, the Greater Park Hill News published a story recognizing a milestone of one of the neighborhood’s institutions: The 20th year of Oblio’s Pizzeria. Many oldtimers expressed their congratulations, and shared their favorite memories about the pizza joint on 22nd and Kearney Street that they’d grown up with. Oblio’s, many noted, is Park Hill’s version of Cheers, where everybody knows your name. It’s a place where many a neighborhood kid has marked birthdays, first dates, first jobs, and where they have headed before high school dances and after soccer games. “Oblio’s is truly the prototype of a local tavern, right out of an Andy Hardy movie – human scale, personal and comfortable, serving a walkable community,” noted longtime Park Hillian Jack Farrar. “The Kearney district has evolved into a vibrant, diverse business district and Oblio’s has played a huge role in that.”
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Editor, GPHC
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By Cara DeGette
Meet Your Leaders: New & Returning Board Members of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc.
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Board Wants City To Stick To Original Promise Of A Pocket Park At The Old Xcel Substation On Fairfax
Prepare For the Ghost Of Politics Future
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GPHC Opposes Land Swap
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Artist rendering of a proposed park in the middle of Park Hill Commons, on the east side of Fairfax between 28th and 29th avenues. In this and other images showing the park and development, few people of color are included – which has helped to fuel claims the developer is attempting to gentrify the neighborhood.
Sisters Morgan and Tegwin McKay, with mom Dawn McKay, are back at the helm of the restaurant. Photo by Brandon J. Scott Photography
As the Restaurants Turn A Gastronomical Park Hill Year in Review By Cara DeGette GPHN Editor
There’ve been ups and downs, twists and turns, intrigue and expectation, dashed hopes, reclaimed dreams, and, in one case, the threat of boycott. And so marks the end of another year in the restaurant business, Park Hill style. The following is a synopsis of news of area restaurants throughout 2017.
First Quarter Appetizers DJs Colfax Café opened with great ex-
pectations on Jan. 4. The popular breakfast eatery (with locations in the Baker and Highland neighborhoods) moved into the spot off Colfax and Eudora Street most recently inhabited by Red Octave (and the site of the former Cork House and before that, as longtime Denverites will remember, the beloved Tante Louise). However, DJs was not to be. It only lasted seven months before shuttering. According to the owners, “We all tried our best but could not build enough of a clientele to make it work.” In late February, the owner of Bardenay continued on page 7
More than $1.6 million was spent to elect four directors to the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. The politicization of these unpaid positions brought in big money, some from out of state, along with some drama. Park Hill residents voted in three of those four races: District 3 (south of Montview Boulevard), District LYNN 4 (north of Montview Boulevard), and At- KALINAUSKAS Large (citywide). In the Park Hill districts, two challengers beat the incumbents, despite the general rule of thumb that incumbents with the big money generally win.
District 3 – The teacher wins Carrie Olson, a 33-year teacher, won the race with an 8 percent margin. In all, $34,399 went towards her election. Five times that amount -- $180,582, was spent on her opponent, incumbent Mike Johnson. Olson’s victory speaks to a rising discontent with DPS “reforms,” and the effectiveness of a strong grassroots campaign that was run by DPS parent Susan Johnson and her son, Zach Cheikho. “This campaign was a wild ride!” said continued on page 8