The Old GrowHaus Is Gone, but the Organization Is Building for the Future

On Monday, April 7, workers began demolishing the GrowHaus, a beloved symbol of the fight for food justice. Back in 2009, the old greenhouse at 4751 York Street had been transformed into an urban garden and community gathering place that provided food and programming for the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. But just before COVID, the city ordered the closer of the GrowHaus, citing structural issues.

While considering what to do with the building, the nonprofit pushed for the development of satellite locations that could help more people throughout the city. Today, the GrowHaus organization has 24 food access points across the city that reach 6,000 people struggling with food insecurity every month.

"We expanded; our footprint is so much wider. I mean, it's a different organization," says Giselle Díaz Campagna, executive director of the GrowHaus. "We're everywhere in Denver, and then some. But you know, that's our neighborhood. That's our home."

After much internal debate, members of the GrowHaus community determined the building could not be saved, given the high cost of renovating it when the organization was funding so many other endeavors, including a multitude of youth and adult education programs. The structure's demolition will give community members and leaders some breathing space as they decide the best use of the property moving forward.

"It puts an end to a painful chapter, definitely. For everyone, [but] in particular, our neighbors," says Campagna. "I don't know that it's a celebration. I personally feel like it's very complex for me, but I think it's a really great way of saying, 'Okay, we did this together, solved this problem, and now we have a next chapter to build together.'"

The Monday gathering included a land blessing ceremony by members of Kalpulli Color Aztlan, an Aztec healing circle, who performed traditional songs and blessings to honor the land as it enters its next chapter. Community members and neighbors looked on, many with hands over their hearts.

"As a leader, it was very difficult for me to see the state of that building and what it represented to have a building vacated like that next to these homes and where children walk to school," says Campagna. "[Especially] with the problems that the city as a whole is having with keeping spaces safe for everyone."'

The greenhouse stood shoulder-to-shoulder with nearby homes, and is remembered by neighbors as a bustling community farm that offered pay-what-you-can shopping at its community market, as well as cooking and nutrition classes.

"Sometimes, I only paid 25 cents for tomatoes," recalls longterm Elyria-Swansea resident Gregoria Rodriguez. Since the closure of the building, Rodriguez, who is a senior, must walk five blocks to the nearest grocery store where she purchases food at much higher prices. "I'm not lazy, but can I [walk] two days a week?" she wonders.

The GrowHaus opened in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood because it suffered from food insecurity and lacked a single grocery store. Today, hunger is more prevalent than ever across the metro area, with 15 percent of adults in a 2024 survey reporting skipping or downsizing a meal in the last twelve months — and almost half of them doing so monthly.

"It's daunting to see how many people — in particular, children — are suffering from food insecurity," Campagna says. "If it affects our neighbors, it affects all of us."
Because it didn't want to leave the neighborhood, the GrowHaus faced a tough choice when the city shut down the building, and then COVID hit. The organization focused on taking its programs to a variety of other locations, serving immediate needs, while holding onto the building. But eventually, after communing with the board of directors, GrowHaus staffers decided to forego any expensive rebuilding process while pushing to self-fund the organization with the help of longtime monthly donors and partnerships with various foundations.

"This is something that I'm really proud to be able to do, and it was a very arduous task that required many contractors and city permits. It was a long [process] and now we're here," says Campagna. "Being able to create a blank canvas for us to dream upon is very special for us, and it speaks to our sovereignty, which is at the base of all of our work."

Though it's unlikely that the land can be returned to its original state, Campagna thinks the GrowHaus could re-activate the location as a community hub, possibly by building a parking lot that could host markets, festivals, refrigerated trucks for food delivery, exercise classes and more.

But as all gardeners and farmers know, an integral part of cultivation is patience, and the GrowHaus is committed to wait before it begins the process. "We need to take time to just [let] the soil regenerate, and that's where we're at right now," says Campagna. "It is our land, the old GrowHaus owns it, and we will steward it and give us a little moment to take this in, and then work with our neighbors to envision what's next."

Demolition is slated to conclude on April 10. Then, while the GrowHaus enters the next phase of brainstorming what's next for Elyria-Swansea, it will continue to serve all of Denver through its commitment to providing hunger relief, wellness education, and community outreach to those in need.