The Big Squeeze

Denver needs to make room for 100,000 more people. So where will they go?

A A A Comments By Stuart Steers Thursday, Nov 2 2000

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Many of Barnes-Gelt's colleagues on city council share her perspective. "I am very much in favor of density," says Polly Flobeck, who represents Hilltop. "In many places in the city, density makes sense, but I don't think lot-splitting is the way to densify. We can't just tear down this city and build house after house after house. But we can certainly look at the advantages of density and do it where it's appropriate."

Flobeck says many people in her district were opposed to the Hillcrest Village project at Third Avenue and Holly Street, which brought 32 condominiums along with several new retailers to a vacant lot. However, she says, most of the neighbors now think Hillcrest Village is a good addition to the area. "Hillcrest Village is close to bus lines, and there are little stores there," she says. "It's exciting to take density -- which many people think is terrible -- and have neighbors walking and not having to get in a car to drive."

John Johnston

Anthony Camera

City planner Ellen Ittelson will help shape Denver's future.

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Whether Denver residents are really ready to change the way the city looks and feels is still unknown. For decades, most of its neighborhoods have seen little change, and the sudden development pressure in the city's center has shocked many longtime residents. All the talk of new urbanism and transit-oriented development may sound good on paper, but when people are faced with a six-story housing project down the street, they may rise up to kill it.

Barnes-Gelt believes that would be a tragedy.

"This is not just a Denver issue, it's a Front Range issue," she says. "We're poised right at the edge. If we're going to maintain and sustain this place, we have to be realistic. The best possible move would be to have another 200,000 people in Denver. That would be 200,000 less people sprawling in the suburbs. There will be a lot of anxiety on the part of citizens, but we have the chance to do this, and, damn it, we'd better do it."