Englewood received a surprise visit from a team from the Media
and Policy Center on site to shoot footage to be included in a 2010
Public Broadcasting System special about public space and public
health.
Harry Wiland, head of the team, met with City Manager Gary Sears
and Mayor Jim Woodward for about 90 minutes on July 20.
“He asked us about the project and about Englewood in general in
the light of how a community makes the transition from transforming
an aging shopping mall into a transit-oriented development,” he
said.
The focus of the film crew was CityCenter Englewood. The project
is on the site of the former Cinderella City, a 1960s shopping mall
that was the largest enclosed mall west of the Mississippi when it
was built.
The mall owner took a tax credit and donated the dead mall to
the city. The city spent the money to clear the site and hired
Miller Weingarten as master developer for a project to create a
transit-oriented development.
The mixed use development centered around the light rail station
and bus transfer station to promote use of mass transit. The
project includes residential and retail components as well as
public art and open space. The development was designed to be
pedestrian friendly plus there is access to a route leading to the
bike path that runs from Chatfield Reservoir to downtown
Denver.
“We were excited to come to Englewood and look at an example of
how a community can retrofit an area formerly occupied by a dead
mall with creativity and innovation to create a transit-oriented
development,” Wiland said in a phone interview. “CityCenter
Englewood is an example of how the city, residents and developers
worked together to create a project that enhanced the area and was
good for the community.”
He said the Englewood project paid attention to providing public
areas, green space and easy access for pedestrians and
cyclists.
The Media and Policy Foundation is a foundation specializing in
production of presentations concerning socially relevant
projects.
Wiland and Dale Bell founded the organization and Richard
Jackson spearheaded the proposal that is currently being produced.
Jackson, professor and chairman of Environmental Health Science at
the University of California, Los Angeles.
The idea was look at ways to balance public space with public
health in the light of technology as well as the way construction
and development is being done to promote use of mass transit as
well as creating pedestrian and cyclist-friendly projects to
improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.
Wiland said CityCenter Englewood is a prime example of a
mixed-use development centered around light rail station and bus
transfer point.
“The project was established with the building done with concern
for the enviroment and public amenities to promote walking and
cycling,” he said. “The result was a destination instead of a
utilitarian development that is a credit and asset to the
community.”
