Sun Valley is a geographically central neighborhood in the metro Denver region and home to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, the majority of whom live in the Sun Valley Homes. Today, 94% of the neighborhood’s housing market is subsidized, with only 5% the homes occupied by their owners. Additionally, over 80% of the population is living below the poverty line. Sun Valley residents represent over 33 different cultural backgrounds and speak more than 28 languages. 25% of Sun Valley’s residents identify as first-generation immigrants, 4% as second-generation immigrants, and 20% as refugees. DHA is poised to create a new model of community transformation with equity, environmental justice, and public health as its driving forces. DHA is underway in replacing 333 units of public housing in the development of 940 new homes in the neighborhood, serving upwards of 2,500 residents. An additional 10 acres of land are set to be developed, bringing an additional 500 – 800 new residences. To support the increase in housing, DHA is re-integrating the grid through large scale infrastructure improvements, and building an 11 acre Riverfront Park along the South Platte.
The Sun Valley Riverfront Park is a planned 11-acre regional park running the length of the South Platte River. Originally contemplated in the Decatur – Federal General Development Plan and part of the Sun Valley Infrastructure Master Plan, the Riverfront Park brings together multiple programmatic elements to further support the Sun Valley Healthy Living Initiative (HLI) and Transformation Plan. Developed in response to the priority health issues in the neighborhood, the HLI introduces four campaigns to improve overall health outcomes in the community, including Safe and Inclusive, Healthy an Active, Pause and Connect, and Opportunity for All. Through the thoughtful, community driven approach to the design, the Riverfront Park works to meet each of these campaigns, creating a safe space the celebrates the diversity of the neighborhood, promotes physical activity and healthy eating, provides spaces for mental restoration, and ensures all Sun Valley residents have access to quality open space.
Gateway (North and South) – This development will be two, six-story mixed-use buildings and one residential building, adding 200 apartments and 265,000 square feet of residential, commercial, and office space to the Sun Valley neighborhood near downtown Denver. Just to the south of Mile High Stadium, Sun Valley is one of Denver’s lowest income neighborhoods, and was selected as an Eco District, a nonprofit organization partnering with DHA to redevelop DHA’s 333-unit aging public housing site.
Phase1
Gateway North: Minutes from downtown, at the intersection of culture, community, and opportunity, be a part of the transformation of Denver’s Sun Valley Neighborhood. One to five-bedroom units in a mixed-income, multi-family building in a transforming neighborhood. Sun Valley is a truly unique environment where generations call home. Gateway is new housing in the heart of Sun Valley – a neighborhood that embodies diversity and inclusion, promotes healthy and active lifestyles, and provides access to opportunity at all stages of life.
The Gateway North public housing development building will include 95 units of family housing, 43 of which will be covered by Section 8 vouchers for low-income residents. All units will be limited to those earning below 30% and up to 60% of median income.
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Gateway South: Located in Larimer Square, a testament to Denver’s balance of old and new, boasting rows of creative restaurants, independent shops, and vibrant nightlife spots in Victorian-era buildings downtown. Gateway South has 3 shopping centers within 1.1 miles and has 5 parks within 2.4 miles, including Landry’s Downtown Aquarium, Children’s Museum of Denver, and Civic Center Park.
Sun Valley’s Gateway South. The housing structure will have 92 units, including 47 one-bedrooms and 45 two-bedrooms. Fifty-eight of those units will have affordability restrictions, ranging from below 30% and up to 60% of the area’s median income. The other 34 will be market-rate units.
Phase2
Greenhaus: The Sun Valley Green Haus project is a 129-unit affordable housing project funded by Denver Housing Authority. This project is part of the Choice Neighborhood Initiative (CNI) Implementation Grant from HUD. This project is expected to be completed by fall of 2022. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/676bbd_28f15f73957348c48229c38c03c958d6~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1432,h_894,q_90/676bbd_28f15f73957348c48229c38c03c958d6~mv2.webp
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Infrastructure (off site) Xcel, Tank Farm:Â The ‘tank farm,’ just off 12th Avenue and Bryant Street, and along the South Platte River Trail, has three empty oil tanks. The land is proposed to become eight acres of development, five acres for a park and the rest for residential units.
Design Guidelines – The Sun Valley Healthy Living Initiative (HLI) focuses action on health determinants in the built environment and areas that the Denver Housing Authority can influence that have been proven to increase healthy choices. The (HLI) puts public health research and data to work, side by side with resident experience, to drive decisions in the Sun Valley EcoDistrict (SVED) redevelopment process and improve opportunities for healthy living. A Baseline Needs Assessment report and a Healthy Living Action Campaigns document precede and inform these Design Guidelines, which focus on specific built environment strategies for new development in the EcoDistrict.
Design Guidelines are categorized into four main areas: Public & Open Space, Site, Street, and Building, and intend to act as a health-focused supplement to overall Sun Valley EcoDistrict design guidelines. Graphic guidelines per category are followed by resources and partner indexes for each, that connect back to the HLI Health Action Campaigns document.
Community – Healthy Living Initiative: The Grow Health Sun Valley is a healthy living initiative to support wellness through Sun Valley design, redevelopment, programs, and operations. Working with Mithun, the design firm that helped guide the Mariposa redevelopment, the Sun Valley Healthy Living Initiative was conducted in 2017. A Sun Valley Needs Assessment was conducted using surveys, community meetings, and informational interviews to better understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community.Â
Campaigns for Action – Based on the Sun Valley priority health issues, we created four Campaigns for Action. These campaigns include “bundles” of strategies organized around a theme for the Denver Housing Authority, Sun Valley EcoDistrict Trust, organizations, residents, and agencies to act. The strategies were chosen because they are proven to improve multiple health determinants, or upstream factors that influence length & quality of life. https://static.wixstatic.com/media/676bbd_a0d295ce5d5245f08691b44b643eba3c~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1081,h_433,al_c,q_90/HLI Campagins_PNG.webp
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