Every month, LIFE will provide answers to the community’s burning questions about new and ongoing developments. If there is a pile of dirt you’re curious about, or if you want to know how much longer your street parking will be sacrificed during construction, email Stacey McDole at capitolhill303@gmail.com. She’ll do the investigation for you and report back.
1310 Pearl St.
Living on walkable Capitol Hill, one is bound to run into somebody doing terrific things. On one such occasion, I ran into Kevin Delk of Two-Fisted Mario's, Double Daughter's and Beatrice & Woodsley fame. He was entering the site at 13th Avenue and Pearl Street where he is building out his fourth restaurant Bang Up To The Elephant!, slated to open in early August.
“I'm grateful to have the opportunity to make this building productive for our beautiful Cap Hill neighborhood again. After 27 years of abandonment, it's great to see it get a happy new life,” Delk says.
Its name comes from an old Victorian slang expression meaning “well done and complete.” I felt it seemed super fitting, considering the intentions.
As the rest of us do who live here, Delk admires the tree-lined streets of Capitol Hill in all their quirkiness and charm. Bang Up To The Elephant! promises to be as vibrant as its residents, without leaving them penniless.
“Everything about this neighborhood makes it my favorite in Denver. I live here, I play here, some of my greatest friends are here, and I'm tailoring this place to reflect and celebrate this.”
If Elephant! is anything like the other restaurants in his quiver, it will surely not disappoint. For more information, you’ll have to wait until August for the answer.
Carla Madison Recreation Center–Colfax Avenue & Josephine Street
It’s hard to ignore the construction of Denver’s first central urban recreation center at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Josephine Street. Denver Parks and Recreation spokesperson Cyndi Karvaski says the LEED Gold certified facility will offer a long list of amenities one would expect at a 69,000 square foot recreation center. But since this is a recreation center in Denver, Colorado, it will also include an outdoor climbing wall, a quarter-acre dog park, table tennis, slackline area, on-site bike parking, a 15-bike B-Cycle lending station and climbing boulders.
“We are also close to realizing a rooftop deck and event space that would provide a premiere recreational and event facility, all while providing magnificent views of Denver and the Front Range,” says Karvaski.
With its convenient proximity to East High School coupled with a free membership through the MY Denver Card program, Karvaski says a goal of the center is to promote an active, healthy lifestyle for Denver families that have previously experienced a dearth of these services in the immediate area.
"The Carla Madison Recreation Center will be a great addition to our dense and vibrant community. Tens of thousands of people will be able to access it with a short walk or bike ride. Colfax Avenue’s existing businesses in the area also support the recreation center knowing that rec center visitors will be frequent visitors to their establishments as well," says Frank Locantore, Executive Director of Colfax Ave Business Improvement District.
The center, which is slated to open late 2017, is named after the late, eccentric Councilwoman Carla Madison.
Visit denvergov.org for more information.
Ogden Flats
It was only a matter of time until the circa-1923 garage at 13th Avenue and Ogden Street was scooped up by developers. Like other projects in the area (think the old antique mall that once sat at Eighth Avenue and Corona Street), the façades of these amazing buildings are being spared and incorporated into their new designs.
Rachel Griffin, co-delegate of CHUN Neighborhood 5, aka West Cheesman, was pleased with the design of the building. “Keep[ing] the façade of the existing building is a good compromise when demolition is the other option. Not that this building was going to be razed, but ‘facadism’ is better than fake veneer any day.”
Future resident Aaron Tweedie will be moving into the building when construction is complete in November. Once a house owner but currently living temporarily in an apartment, he and his wife, Haily, decided a condo fit best with their urban family needs.
“We wanted our son to have a yard but found that when any of us wanted to get outside, we much preferred a walk through the neighborhood, the Botanical Gardens or Cheesman Park,” Tweedie says.
“We admire all the previous projects by Generation Development and Range Architects. Their projects are very modern, restrained, tasteful and smart.”
If you’re worried about the old Penn Garage sign like I was, you’ll be relieved to know it will live safely in the lobby of the building.
The developer was unavailable for comment. For more information, including floorplans and pricing, visit ogdenflats.com.
