[music] Kimball Crangle: South Lincoln Homes is a public housing site on
15 acres southwest of Downtown Denver. We are a mile from downtown, which means were a mile
from excellent amenities. Ismael Guerrero: So the South Lincoln Homes have been part
of DHA's portfolio for many years, and as we got into the planning and visioning for
what the new community would be, we realized that it also needed to be renamed, essentially,
rebranded, so people would have a new perspective on what the future was going to be here. Through
the community input, we selected The Maraposa as the name of the new community, and part
of it is that from the Spanish name, it means butterfly, which was really symbolic for what
was happening here as a new community was emerging from the old. Not only do we have
our phase one completed here, but now we're really rolling. Phase 2 will be open next
year, phase 3 is under construction, phase 4 has been designed, and so this is now going
to become a reality. Kimball Crangle: We knew that it was critical to include the transportation
element in the redevelopment of the housing project. One, because we had the light rail
station adjacent to the site, making sure that housing plus transportation costs remained
in check is critical for our public housing residents. We also knew that it was critical
to encourage more bicycle friendly and walk able pedestrian friendly connections to the
neighborhood, to encourage redevelopment that was not auto dependent. The community actually
led the design process. We started out with a cultural audit where we really tried to
understand the DNA of not only South Lincoln Homes residents, but of the La Alma
Lincoln Park neighborhood. Renee Martinez-Stone: We would literally go door to door and talk
to people. We'd bring a folding table and the drawings, and in some cases, it was just smaller
venues. Kimball Crangle: That cultural audit is what helped us define the needs and goals
that were required to make this redevelopment a success. Ismael Guerrero: Combining solar
and geothermal design in every building, which really drives down our utility costs, all
of our buildings have high insulation, and are factors throughout, and that ensures that
not only are we using more renewable energy sources, but overall, we're driving down our
energy consumption by about 40 percent, just through the design of the building. Kimball
Crangle: How will people's lives be improved through a redevelopment. To improve people's
lives, it had to be on the very micro scale. We had to improve people's lives daily. Ismael
Guerrero: Here at the Denver Housing Authority, we have a large immigrant community, and so
one of the important things is helping them transition to be independent, and self sufficient
as well. Kimball Crangle: So improving access to healthy foods, by opening community gardens,
and allowing people to access those right off the bat. Ismael Guerrero: So we are offering classes
for adults. One of the initiatives is called "with every heartbeat is life," focused on how
-- healthy living, and healthy eating will improve life, and extend your health. Kimball
Crangle: Also encouraging more safety and eyes on the street, the park. All of those
factors are helping to improve people's lives overnight. Ismael Guerrero: What's most important
is that we are demonstrating day to day here that it really is possible for people of diverse
incomes and diverse backgrounds to live together, to work together, and to build a community
together. So we really see this as a model that's working here in Denver, and we believe
it can work throughout the region, and throughout the country. [music] [end of transcript]