Lisa Calderón: “We need to have growth to have a vibrant city….I appreciate our nice spaces to eat and enjoy ourselves, but the downside of growth and revitalization is gentrification. And, unlike this administration, I don’t believe gentrification is inevitable.”

Stephan “Chairman Seku” Evans: “The town has lost its intrinsic value and its culture. When I was growing up, this was the wild, wild West. What I see now is massive confusion and people who are from here pissed off about the change. They don’t know who they are no more.”

Jamie Giellis: “Growth, in and of itself, is a natural evolution of a city. So, I’m not an anti-growth person and I don’t think we can be. We can’t stop it. We just have to direct it.”

Michael B. Hancock: “People say there’s no plan to respond to growth. That’s not true….Denveright is an updated strategy for Denver going forward. So, we have a plan and I’m excited about it. It’s the people’s plan; 25,000 people helped write it.”

Kalyn Rose Heffernan: “Growth has to be prioritized and [we have to be] smart about its impact. It’s not fair to welcome upper class people and push out a lot more lower class people. That’s gentrification. That’s colonization.”

Penfield Tate III: “I’m not anti-growth. I know we need to grow and, as we grow, we need to develop. One of the greatest failings of [the current] administration is that the growth we’ve had has not been harmonized with the communities in which it’s occurring….We have a responsibility to manage, design, and direct growth so we get the outcome we want as citizens of the city.”

Jay Bouchard
Jay Bouchard
Jay Bouchard is a Denver-based writer and a former editor on 5280's digital team.
Natasha Gardner
Natasha Gardner
Natasha Gardner is a Denver-based writer and the former Articles Editor for 5280.