7 JANUARY 1-7, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Call Elaine Lustig, PhD .......................................................... at 303-369-7770 Needing Your Emotional ....... Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED Coalition for the Homeless, the Denver Rescue Mis- sion, Catholic Charities of Denver and Volunteers of America Colorado. “It’s a good thing that we were around when COVID hit, because we were the ones that brokered the open- ing of the National Western Center,” Carlson says, refer- ring to when that facility was used as a 600-person shelter. “The Denver Rescue Mis- sion said they would run it. CCH said they would do the medical piece. It was really the most grassroots effort for collaboration.” In the year ahead, the HLC will add representatives from Urban Al- chemy, the California-based nonprofi t tapped to run the largest and most controversial AIMH shelter, the Aspen. It will also bring in Bayaud Works, the company (and former nonprofi t) that’s taking over operations at the Tamarac Family Shelter; Bayaud Works has been run- ning the Stay Inn micro-community since 2023. “We’re bringing new providers into Den- ver,” Carlson says. “It’s going to be really important for us to learn from what they’re doing. They’re doing stuff in other parts of the country, so I’m sure we have a lot to learn.” – Bennito L. Kelty Jevon Taylor During the pandemic, Jevon Taylor was priced out of the RiNo market when the rent increased on his clothing store, False Ego. So he closed up shop and invested in Green Spaces Denver, a “sustainable hub for co-working, creativity, collaboration and community” at 2590 Walnut Street. “I asked myself: How do we give access to small busi- nesses and artists in a thriving commercial area?” Taylor told Westword at the time. Four years later, Taylor’s asking a new question: How does he use those small busi- nesses and artists to create a thriving com- mercial area in the heart of downtown? “We’re taking over two buildings (a whole block) on 16th Street,” he announced after his proposal to construct an 18,000 square-foot version of Green Spaces in the McClintock Building at 1554 California Street got a $2.7 million seal of approval from the Down- town Development Authority. “This isn’t just about fi lling empty storefronts for me. It’s about creating a downtown that feels alive again. A place where people want to pull up, post up, and experience something unique every time they come through. A block full of culture, something Downtown Denver hasn’t had in a long time.” The thirty-year-old Taylor was front and center at the fi rst round of DDA project an- nouncements in late July. “Right now, at 16th, you can see a lot of change that you kind of fi nd anywhere in America,” Taylor told the crowd. “So we’re looking to make 16th like a unique hub.” His ambitious proposal calls for more of the same sort of mix in his current space – a marketplace of galleries, clothing stores, food and beverage outfi ts, as well as artist spots and coworking spaces. His plan defi nitely stood out among the other proposals that got the nod: money for city projects at Civic Center Park, the McNichols Building and Skyline Park; pur- chasing two parking lots behind the Denver Pavilions (which was later added to the list for an additional $45 million acquisition by the city); funding to help convert two offi ce buildings into residential units; $750,000 to expand Sundae Artisan Ice Cream; $640,000 to relocate Milk Tea People; and $400,000 to help create the Denver Immersive Repertory Theater, the only proposal that didn’t need the approval of Denver City Council because it was below the $500,000 threshold that requires council’s okay. But Taylor had no problem securing that this fall. “Huge thank you to the DDA, the Mayor, and everyone from the city staff and beyond that played a part in making this happen and for believ- ing in the vision we have,” he says. Seeing is believing, though, and we’ll be watch- ing as Taylor ramps up his game to create what could become a critical, creative component in downtown’s resurrection. Meanwhile, the DDA is continuing to consider proposals, since it will have an estimated $400 million more to dole out. That’s a lot of green! – Patricia Calhoun Jevon Taylor Christina Carlson BENNITO L. KELT Y KRISTIN PAZULSKI
