The City Council unanimously approved a public-financing package Monday night, clearing the way for developers to convert the contaminated Gates Rubber plant into a housing, retail and transit facility in the city’s most significant redevelopment since the Stapleton project.
The vote puts a end to a sometimes contentious creative process that has lasted several years. Council members told an overflow crowd that significant victories for labor, public housing and local businesses made the project worthy of public subsidy.
Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie, the project’s most visible skeptic on council, said developer Cherokee Denver LLC had satisfied the city’s interests enough to earn her vote.
“I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water,” she said.
Councilman Charlie Brown called the project a winner.
The Gates redevelopment at Broadway and Interstate 25 is expected to cost $1 billion and take 10 to 15 years to complete.
For its part, city officials pledged $85 million in public financing to subsidize the cleanup and infrastructure construction.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-820-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
