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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — With the help of a national grant, the City of Englewood is hoping to transform a highly traveled section of South Broadway into a “healthy corridor.”
The grant will help Englewood city officials “to look at opportunities to try to improve the conditions of these areas from a health standpoint,” Englewood’s Community Development Director Brad Power said.
The city was recently named one of four municipalities to receive a grant from the Urban Land Institute to study how to make South Broadway, from Oxford to Yale, a stretch that isn’t just about the cars that drive it.
The question is, “how can we improve people’s health in terms of the investment decisions that are made, the type of development, and the type of improvements that cities make in these areas?” Power said.
A lot is on the table in terms of possible changes including sidewalks, lighting, trees, signage, and more. The goal is to try to bring more people and businesses into the area and make them want to stay.
“There’s a lot of families moving this way, a lot of opportunity for growth out this way,” Clint Wangsnes, owner of Chop Shop Urban Eatery, told Denver7.
Wangsnes is building the newest location of his restaurant along South Broadway in Englewood.
“Englewood, just like every other area of Denver, is growing at a very rapid place,” he said. “Huge growth potential.”
There is no official time table for the healthy corridor, since Power says it’s “not like a shopping mall,” with the hope is that it happens organically.
“We want people to stop and stay here and discover this community,” Power added.
“You’re seeing restaurants, you’re seeing businesses popping up all over. I think in five years this corridor is going to be completely changed,” Wangsnes said.
More information on the healthy corridor plans can be found on the Urban Land Institute's website.