Denver is experiencing heady times with a robust economy and booming population so it’s smart for Mayor Michael Hancock to to redevelopment projects.
The proposed 2015 budget includes $63 million for neighborhood projects and other one-time investments, such as redeveloping Brighton Boulevard and preparing Interstate 70 for reconstruction.
In recent years, the budget was often a horror show with declining revenues butting against increased costs. Budgets would be passed with cuts, employee furloughs and pay freezes.
With improved revenues and a budget imbalance resolved in part through a 2012 ballot measure, Hancock now has the luxury of focusing money on key areas for future investment.
Projects planned under the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative are essential for the city moving forward: rebuilding I-70; re-imagining the National Western Stock Show; and trying to bolster the neighborhoods of Elyria, Swansea and Globeville, which had been neglected for decades.
Brighton Boulevard is experiencing a renaissance, with businesses and developers flocking to the hot, new trendy section of the city, as it is steadily transformed from its industrial past. So it only makes sense for the city to stay in step with that development by providing new sidewalks, underground utility work, bike lanes and repaved streets.
Hancock also proposes $10 million for parks, trails, playgrounds and athletic fields that have been neglected for years due to cuts.
Headlines about Hancock’s 2015 budget may have focused on his call for more sheriff’s deputies, police recruits and staff for the independent monitor’s office. Those are vital areas for attention, and the spending initiatives address areas of need revealed by the recent jail scandals. But the broader trend in Denver these days is growth, and the mayor’s budget clearly establishes that issue as a top priority.
