Families who have lived in Denver’s La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood for generations see two distinct visions for the future of their historic community after the Broncos build a new stadium there.
In the best-case scenario, the neighborhood’s current residents and businesses will flourish. Sports fans and concertgoers will pass through the area respectfully on their way to events, learning about the community’s history and immersing themselves in the local culture and arts. They will shop at the nearby stores and restaurants. They won’t litter.
But in an alternate reality — one that has played out elsewhere — the future could look much bleaker. In that scenario, growing property tax bills and rent prices will force the current residents to move out. National chains will replace local businesses. Traffic will overload the streets.
And someday in the not-too-distant future, strangers will wander through the neighborhood with no idea of the people who once lived there.
“Our history has been that when massive development comes into a community, the memories evaporate,” said Tony Garcia, who grew up near Lincoln Park. “And everybody who came in here after that, it just doesn’t matter anymore.”
In the coming months, a group of community advocates, including Garcia, will work with the team’s ownership to try to find as many ways as possible to avoid the latter and aim as close as they can for that other, happier scenario.
When the process is over, both sides hope to agree to a legally binding “community benefits agreement,” commonly referred to as a CBA.
, developers typically agree to take on various projects intended to offset the impact of a development and help the surrounding area, such as by building affordable housing, creating youth programs and commissioning local artists for new work. The agreements can take months or even years to complete.
The CBA coalition for the Broncos stadium, which is called Burnham Yard Community Action, plans to announce Tuesday which organizations will be involved in the negotiations and what values the group will prioritize in the talks. In an interview with The Denver Post ahead of that announcement, coalition members described their hopes and fears for the process and gave an early look at their starting point for discussions.
Itap not yet clear when the coalition will begin its negotiations with the team. It says the meetings won’t begin until the team’s owners provide more details on their planned development. A source with knowledge of the discussions around the negotiations said an initial meeting is expected to happen this month.
“We’re aware that the owners will need to pencil their numbers. They need to make sure this works for them. But we’re penciling, too,” said Gloria Leyba, a fourth-generation resident of the neighborhood and member of the coalition. “This is a community that has paid and paid and paid. And we’re going to come out even now.”
The coalition says this will be the first legally binding CBA negotiated by an NFL team with a community group, rather than with a government entity.
Other city neighborhoods containing major developments, like Elyria-Swansea’s National Western Center and Auraria’s redevelopment around Ball Arena, have also recently undergone CBA processes.
In a statement, Broncos President Damani Leech said the organization is looking forward to beginning the negotiations “with a shared sense of urgency and cooperation.”
“Throughout our history, the Broncos have invested deeply in our community through meaningful programs, partnerships and impact benefitting current and future generations,” he wrote in a statement provided through a team spokesperson. “That approach will continue to guide our organization as we engage thoughtfully and collaboratively with (the coalition).”
Denver City Councilwoman Jamie Torres, who represents the neighborhood, said she expected the CBA conversations to be different than some of the previous ones.
“This is a pretty unique place, so I think there are going to be things included in this agreement that maybe we’ve never seen before,” she said.
What will the CBA coalition ask for?
La Alma-Lincoln Park, founded in the 1880s, is located near the center of the city, southwest of downtown. The neighborhood, just north of Baker, is bordered by the South Platte River to the west, Speer Boulevard to the east, and Colfax and Sixth avenues to the north and south.
Itap a predominantly Hispanic community and has one of the largest concentrations of Denver homes built before 1890, and it’s also home to the Art District on Santa Fe. In 2021, the city honoring the Chicano movement.
“We refer to this area as ‘el corazón de la ciudad’ — the heart of the city. It has been since its inception,” said Garcia, who is also the executive artistic director of Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center. “What happens in this neighborhood reflects on everything else in the city.”
Itap too early to know exactly which requests Burnham Yard Community Action might propose under the CBA. But the coalition, which is made up of 16 entities, has released a list of values it will carry into the negotiations.
The group has six main values: equity, housing, youth and education, economic empowerment, quality of life, and the arts, according to the list provided to The Post.
Within each of those values, there are more specific ideas for possible projects, including building housing affordability, expanding childcare options and creating opportunities for local artists.
The group also wants to prevent residents from being displaced, build “long-lasting community wealth,” promote small businesses and support youth education.
Overall, its members want their community and its history to be celebrated and preserved — and, where possible, improved. They want their children and grandchildren to be able to grow up in the community where they’re from.
“As I work my way through my 70s, I understand that the biggest gifts that we can give to the generations to come is memory,” Garcia said.
In the interview with The Post, representatives of the group declined to go into further detail on some of the listed values, including “supporting reparations for communities that have been historically harmed.”
Many voices, and much work remains
The coalition consists of 16 organizations ranging from housing advocacy groups and nonprofits to arts districts and neighborhood groups. It includes neighborhood organizations for Baker, Sun Valley, La Alma and La Alma-Lincoln Park. Two trade unions are also included in the list.
The Art District on Santa Fe, the Denver Housing Authority, and Denver Indian Health and Family Services are also members.
Former Councilwoman Robin Kniech is a consultant and spokesperson for the group.
Meanwhile, the Broncos still have many steps ahead before construction crews can break ground on the stadium and other development the team is planning for Burnham Yard. The team plans to dedicate most of the site’s acreage to a future entertainment district, including mixed-use developments, open space, a park and a tailgate area.
The team’s owners still must finalize their acquisition of the 58-acre parcel, including by relocating much of Denver Water’s campus elsewhere. Environmental cleanup crews will then have to prepare the land for construction.
The council also must approve a small area plan, a rezoning request, a development agreement and any requests for tax-increment financing. The Denver Urban Renewal Authority is now studying the site to determine whether that financing tool can be used.
In the past, the council has waited to approve many of those requests until after a CBA is finalized with the community.
Torres, the councilwoman, said she expected that to happen again for the Burnham Yard negotiations.
“We could still be moving things through the process while the CBA is underway, but when we get to a final vote, we’ve got to know that the community feels okay with this,” she said.
Itap an aggressive timeline for the stadium to be finished by the team’s target of the 2031 season, which comes shortly after the Broncos’ lease expires at Empower Field at the end of the 2030 season. Broncos officials have said construction crews would need to begin work around this time next year in order to meet that deadline.
