A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
DEBUTANTES & GENTLEMEN
ART OF COMMUNITY
LOCAL | PG 8-9
FLEURISH | PG 13
NEWS | PG 19
To think that it happened on Main Street
S O U T H
Englewood mayor paints a picture in State of City
La Ball de Ballet est merveilleuse
M E T R O
VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 30 • JUNE 15, 2017
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Drawing conclusions on the street www.villagerpublishing.com
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Denver chalks it up for the 15th year
Chalk artist extraordinaire Kyle Banister of Littleton works on “Look at Me, Leonard,” a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. The weekend of June 3-4 brought out some of the best artists, both local and national, to the 15th annual Denver Chalk Art Festival in Larimer Square. Themes ranged from interpretations of classic art to the decidedly in avant garde.
Students from Highlands Ranch High School— Kylie Walsh, Cassidy Storey, Talia Kramer and Hilton Kreil—draw under the heat of the sun as their art teacher Jon Cushing takes a break in the umbrella shade.
Photos by Stefan Krusze
Developer is expected to resubmit plan for Subarea BY PETER JONES NEWS EDITOR
In the wake of the overwhelming rejection of last week’s ballot question to allow high-density, mixeduse development near the Orchard Avenue light rail station, the developer at the center of the controversy has reaffirmed his commitment
to the underutilized stretch west of I-25. Don Provost, founding principal at Greenwood Village-based Alberta Development Partners, had not returned a request for comment at press time, but issued a general statement to the press on June 6 after the city’s voters rejected the
initiative to amend Greenwood’s guiding Comprehensive Plan by a greater than 3-to-1 margin. About half of the city’s registered voters cast ballots. “Unfortunately, things did not go our way tonight in the election,” Provost said. “We are about the future. We will continue to pursue our vision for economic sustainability. We have always been leaders and will continue to encourage constructive conversations about creating community. Conversations that look forward and aren’t satisfied with the existing condition. We
look forward to developing a plan to redevelop these properties.” Alberta already owns nearly a quarter of the 43acre often-desolate stretch between Orchard Road and the Landmark development that has been dubbed in city documents as the Orchard Station Subarea. In an interview prior to last week’s vote, Provost said he had no “Plan B” in case voters rejected the Comp Plan changes, though said he would be unlikely to walk away from redeveloping the Subarea altogether. Earlier this year, Alberta withdrew its proposal for 3.3 million square feet of highdensity, mixed-use development in the Subarea after
much of the City Council balked in the face of public protest. The Comp Plan for the Subarea, as now reaffirmed, discourages residential, which has been a major component of Provost’s mixed-use vision. Former City Councilmember Dave Kerber, a leader in the opposition campaign, says he was not surprised by the overwhelming vote in his side’s favor, despite being outspent. “We had a lot of people on the street going door to door,” he said. “We weren’t pushing yard signs. People were asking us for yard signs. It was truly grassroots.” Continued on Page 7