Here’s how city plans to spend $193.1M in 1st part of package
Several major cultural, park and transportation projects will be among the first to receive money as the city launches work on the massive $937 million bond package approved last fall by voters.
An initial project list released Tuesday — detailing how the city will spend the first $193.1 million it’s proposing to borrow — also includes money for design and planning work that will flesh out 30 future projects, including the widening of East 56th Avenue and the reconstruction of North Washington Street.
About 57 percent of the initial project list’s funding will go toward Denver Health’s new outpatient center and several cultural facilities and organizations, in large part because those projects are ready to go and have other money lined up. But those groups won’t receive the entirety of their earmarks up front, making room for projects such as a renovation of Paco Sanchez Park.
“These first projects will provide the foundation for the next several years of much-needed improvements in neighborhoods across Denver,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a news release. “This is a balanced proposal, and we are excited to get to work on making these critical investments in our city.”
A look at the projects that will receive money in the first round:
$65 million for cultural facilities
Several cultural organizations will receive the first portions of the bond package’s promised contributions toward their projects: $25 million for the Denver Art Museum’s North Building renovation; $12 million for the Denver Botanic Gardens’ new Freyer-Newman Center for science, art and education; $11 million for deferred maintenance at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science; $10 million for the Denver Zoo’s new animal hospital; and $6 million for upgrades to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Bonfils Theatre Complex.
The final $1 million in this category will go toward design work for upgrades to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Buell Theatre.
$45 million for Denver Health facility
The largest, single project amount in the first round will go to the Denver Health and Hospital Authority’s new Outpatient Medical Center project, which ultimately will receive $75 million — about half its cost — from the bond package.
The bond package’s largest overall category (at $431 million) is overshadowed in the first round by cultural projects, but funding is included to start construction on several key projects: $15 million for a boost in citywide street paving, nearly $7.8 million for sidewalks and fixes to curbs and gutters, $4 million for bike lanes.
Another $2 million will help finish up design and begin construction on a pedestrian/bike bridge over an at-grade railroad crossing near East 47th Avenue and York Street, just blocks from Swansea Elementary.
Contributions for design work include the Colfax Avenue bus-rapid transit project ($1.5 million), the East 56th Avenue project between Peoria Street and Peña Boulevard ($600,000) and the Washington Street project between East 47th and East 52nd avenues ($1.5 million).
$30.5 million for parks and recreation
Paco Sanchez Park is set to receive $6.6 million to pay for the final stage of the “Re-Imagine Play” project, while $5 million will kick off construction on a river promenade in the River North Art District along Arkins Court.
The rest of the money will pay for design work on projects at recreation centers, public pools and several parks, with some of those also budgeted for construction (including a new City Park playground and tennis courts at Bear Valley Park).
Not included in the first round, however, is the biggest-ticket parks project: a new recreation center in Westwood, which is expected to cost $37.5 million.
$6.1 million for public safety and other city facilities
The Denver County jail on Smith Road will receive $1.5 million for improvements, while $3.2 million is budgeted for deferred maintenance and upgrades at police and fire stations.
The rest will go toward accessibility projects and deferred maintenance at other city buildings.
$5.3 million for libraries
Several library branches are set for renovations in the bond package, but the first round includes only design work for four of them.
The Central Library is budgeted for $4 million, and the rest is split between the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library and the Byers and Smiley branches.
What happens next?
The City Council on Tuesday afternoon began considering the first issuance of bonds.
Approval is expected in coming weeks.