A team led by ex-Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and developer Jim Sullivan has been formally selected to redevelop the former Dahlia Square Shopping Center in northeast Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood.
Alliance Development Partners got a preliminary nod from the Denver Urban Renewal Authority in October and has since been negotiating the details of the development. On Thursday, DURA’s board of commissioners voted to approve Alliance for the project, which had previously been marred by setbacks and environmental problems.
“It is clearly a milestone in this process,” DURA executive director Tracy Huggins said.
With the latest approval, Alliance and DURA will begin negotiating development agreements and purchase and sale agreements for the property. The land is held by nonprofit Parkhill Community Inc., a subsidiary of Brownfield Partners, which is handling the demolition and cleanup of the site.
Plans for the site call for a mix of market-rate housing, affordable and senior housing and a Denver Health clinic. Denver-based Oakwood Homes will construct the market-rate housing, and Alliance is negotiating with the Catholic archdiocese to build the affordable and senior units.
“I’m pleased now that we have an identifiable project and know who most of the players are,” Webb said. “It brings a new asset to the neighborhood. The community as a whole benefits.”
Dahlia Square would be the first development project for Webb, who also runs a consulting business, Webb Group International LLC. While mayor, he encouraged redevelopment of the 8.3-acre site at East 33rd Avenue and Dahlia Street. His administration helped set aside money for the project. It was hindered, however, by false starts that included the discovery of a landfill beneath the site.
Dahlia Square was once among the largest black-owned shopping centers in the country. It once was home to a grocery store, a dry cleaner and other small businesses, but it had fallen into disrepair. Denver Health was among the recent tenants and has been relocated to temporary offices at East 38th Avenue and Grape Street until the redevelopment is completed.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
