The seeds were planted when voters approved $18.6 million in bond funds. Now, Denver Botanic Gardens believes that despite freezing temperatures, it’s the season to bloom.
A new brand, a new icon and a focus on four core values were introduced Thursday night in front of 200 friends and donors as the organization undertakes an aggressive capital campaign.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper stood on stage in the center of the complex’s newly renovated Mitchell Hall and declared that the vision is in place to make the gardens, started in the 1950s, “world class.”
“We have so much momentum around the gardens right now,” Hickenlooper told the audience. “One hundred years from now, people in Denver will ask, ‘How did we end up with such an incredible amenity.’ ”
The botanic gardens’ new logo borrows from an old Denver Broncos helmet, but instead of a horse head protruding from the letter D in “Gardens,” it’s a leafy branch.
The four core values that make up the new brand — transformation, relevance, diversity and sustainability — will make up the soul of the organization, chief executive Brian Vogt said.
Vogt looked back on the spurts of capital improvements to other Denver attractions: the Denver Zoo two decades ago, the Museum of Nature & Science a decade ago, and most recently the Denver Art Museum’s new addition.
“This is our time,” he said. “We have the foundation we need, and the energies in the community are coming together from the bond approval to get this done.”
To get things rolling toward a goal of $14.6 million in private donations, the botanic gardens has received $1 million from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and $2.3 million from the Janet Mordecai Foundation.
“We’re hoping that this gift will help give other people in the community confidence that this project will happen,” said Dr. Dorothy Horrell, president and CEO of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation.
While there has been no stated deadline for completion of the gardens’ improvements, Vogt hopes to get projects going as soon as possible in several phases.
The first phase of development, using the bond money voters passed in last year’s election, will pay for a new greenhouse complex, a new irrigation system, and accessibility and safety enhancements at the sprawling facility at 1005 York St.
The private donations will go toward building the Mordecai Family Children’s Garden, which is expected to break ground in spring 2009. Expansion of the Japanese garden and other capital improvements are also planned. A new covered parking structure will be funded through private bonds, Vogt said.
“The bond was a good jump-start to this,” said City Councilwoman Jeanne Robb, who was in attendance Thursday night. “They have a lot of outreach to do to meet their goals, but I think the values they’ve set out and the direction they’re going is right on.”
Manny Gonzales: 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com
