Blog #2 -
Investment
August 20,
2018
I’m sure
you’ve seen the work. With all the flagmen, cement trucks, and orange cones, the
work is nearly impossible to miss. The city’s DrivingChange street repair program is, quite frankly, transforming
Sheridan.
Thanks to a
voter-approved bond, 75 percent of the city’s streets will be repaired and
replaced over a four-year span.
Take a look
at the blocks north of Fort Logan Northgate School if you want to see a beehive
of activity. It’s impressive.
Not too far away, Sheridan Square is
really taking shape. The Habitat for Humanity project is starting to look like
a complete neighborhood. And you can still see what’s coming as the foundations
go in and the frames for the next batch of houses start to take shape.
As the
school year starts, our schools report that they are receiving new students as
families move in to Sheridan Square and we are more than excited to welcome
them!
I mention
the roads and the new houses because—and it should be obvious—Sheridan is changing.
We know this isn’t good news for everyone. We are keenly aware that some
families have had to leave because rents have risen beyond their means.
Affordable housing is a major issue across Metro Denver, no question about it.
But the roads and houses mean that
there is investment going on in our community—significant investment. Fort
Logan Northgate School, also built with the confidence of local voters and
local taxpayers, represents that investment, too. It’s a sparkling school and
the envy of many—and the Sheridan Square project would never have happened
without the plan that led to its construction.
These
investments, to me, represent confidence in the future of our community. They
are a good sign, a harbinger of what’s to come. Collectively, the community is
saying, “the future Is looking up.”
I see the
same thing when I walk around schools. Our teachers are invested, too. They are
committed. Why? They see potential. If they invest time and effort—and if the students invest time and effort—the results
will be positive. Collectively, the
teachers are saying, “the future is looking up.”
And that’s a
good thing.