The director of a Denver office charged with coordinating multiple big projects and initiatives affecting north Denver neighborhoods confirmed that she will step down next month.
Anna Jones as executive director of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative, an office created in 2013 by Mayor Michael Hancock to serve as a coordinator for initiatives affecting Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.
Her last day will be July 3, she said, and she attributed her departure to a desire to spend more time with her family before her oldest son goes to college. She said the decision to leave was not influenced by outside pressure.
“Really, there’s nothing else other than my eldest goes off to college in the fall,” said Jones, who formerly worked as a community development consultant. “I’m just realizing that this is a special moment in his life and our lives as a family. … I’ve been going strong in my career for over 20 years, and I just need to take a break and spend some time with my family.”
Hancock to the $135,000-a-year post in May 2016. She had lost a race for City Council in 2015.
The mayor now will appoint the third leader of an office that’s deeply involved in controversial projects in heavily Latino neighborhoods that are facing strong economic pressures. The office has eight dedicated employees and a $1.2 million operating budget this year, plus staffers devoted to NDCC projects in other departments.
The collaborative office’s portfolio includes coordinating community efforts surrounding the state’s planned reconstruction and widening of Interstate 70 as well as transit station development, redevelopment along Brighton Boulevard, planning for South Platte River revitalization in River North and neighborhood plans. The office also works closely with the mayor’s Office of the National Western Center, which to focus on the $1.1 billion redevelopment project that also deeply affects those neighborhoods.
“It’s been fabulous. It’s been a great experience,” Jones said. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the communities of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea really well. It’s tremendously rewarding work, but of course there’s still so much left to do to get those communities where they need to be.”