The Colorado Boulevard Health Care District held a community meeting on June 26 to discuss redevelopment at the site of the former CU Hospital at 9th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. The developer picked to lead the project, Atlanta-based Fuqua Development, presented their plans to anchor the retail space with a scaled-down Walmart.
Given advance notice, a vocal group of neighbors who attended told Fuqua in no uncertain terms what they thought of the plan.
In the video clip above, one of the presenters is trying to explain that the Walmart’s footprint will be about the same size as a nearby grocery story, at 14th and Krameria. He is eventually drowned out with shouting, culminating in, “We won’t shop there!” followed by applause.
“Fuqua estimated at full build-out, the site would create an estimated $6.2 million in annual sales and property taxes and create 877 permanent jobs, in addition to the 540 jobs created by the construction and pre-development work,” according to a Denver Business Journal report.
Of course, people opposed to a plan always have more incentive to show up. I recall a similar – albeit smaller-scale – ruckus breaking out over the replacement of an abandoned and boarded-up used car lot by a McDonald’s in 2004. I actually got e-mails from neighbors there claiming that the abandoned properties were preferable to a working restaurant.
