admin

The new North Green in the Conservatory Green neighborhood in Stapleton made sure to start off strong and send a message to residents and those attending events on the North Green: this won’t be the white trash green you’re used to at the 29th St. Town Center. The Stapleton MCA held a community picnic for residents where a Stapleton ID was needed. For the MCA, this is a no-brainer way to keep out the Aurora riff-raff. “Why we didn’t do that originally at the 29th St. Green is beyond me,” exclaimed Kampstra. “We could have simply said you need a Stapleton ID or pay, and we could have easily priced them out. We won’t make that same mistake here at the North Green.” [Read more…] about Community Picnic on North Green Has Regal Feel

Two things are becoming increasingly clear in regards to the Eastbridge Town Center: Eastbridge is getting a King Soopers, and it won’t have a gas station. That notion became quite clear after Soopers’ representative Joe Starbuck himself said, “Do I want one across from my house? No.” The gas station has become intentionally or unintentionally the biggest bargaining chip for Soopers and Forest City. “I’m not sure they ever truly intended to put a gas station there,” says skeptical resident and conspiracy theorist John Baldwin. “It was actually brilliant. They storm in here taking the space, and then say they are going to add a gas station. People forget about not liking them, and focus all of their energy on the gas station portion. Well played, Soopers.” [Read more…] about Sooper’s Service Station Concept Running Out of Gas

Stapleton families were able to acquire a lot of items and get rid of a lot of items during the yard sale weekend. The main items exchanged were toys, baby items, and random nick knacks. Well, six months later, those same items will be outdated or the kids will be sick of them. So, why not pass them on before Christmas? “People get so much new stuff around Christmas,” said MCA President Liza Kampstra. “We thought we should give people one more chance to sell unused toys and baby items, if only to clear out their homes, or attain new, used Santa toys for the kids.” [Read more…] about Stapleton to Add “Dollar Days” Garage Sale Prior to Beginning of Winter

The 2015 Tetherball World Championships are coming to Stapleton this spring and are being hosted by Isabella Bird Elementary School. The Stapleton School won the bid over cities including Houston, Istanbul (Turkey), Bogota (Columbia) and Johannesburg (South Africa) among others. “In the end, the area offered all the things we were looking for,” said Tetherball Committee chairman Joe Buenger. “It was close to the airport, they are building brand new, state of the art Tetherball courts, and there are plenty of hotels to accommodate the numbers we are expecting.” [Read more…] about Isabella Bird Prepared for 2015 Tetherball World Championships

The Front Porch recently examined the issue surrounding bike safety and best practices for riders. If you have ever been on a bike path as a walker, runner, or walking your dog with your family, you have undoubtedly received a bad look from a passing biker. And, most certainly, walkers and runners have been frustrated by bikers riding by too quickly or not giving enough of a heads up. [Read more…] about Can’t We All Just Get Along; Bikers’, Walkers’, & Drivers’ Silent Feud

The angst of the Eastbridge community continues to grow as finalized plans with King Soopers and the development of the Eastbridge town center move forward. According to the latest SUN Survey, only about 13% of Stapleton residents “strongly support” the current proposed plan by Forest City and King Soopers for the Eastbridge town center (I would like to see more info on this 13%–demographics, where they live in Stapleton, etc.). Another 13% don’t care, and about 25% somewhat support the current direction of the development (again, what parts does this group like and dislike). This leaves almost half of the respondents strongly opposing the current direction of the project, or somewhat opposing it. “I don’t understand who is excited about this current monstrosity,” said resident Brad Clark. “No one I talk to wants this.” Other residents agree. “Maybe non-Eastbridge people who can have the convenience of another grocery store, but not right in their own backyard,” said Kristi Bauer. “I can’t imagine anyone in Eastbridge likes this.” Eastrbidge resident Chris Williams disagrees. “I actually do support the King Soopers in the town center,” said Williams. “I mean, at least it is something. Now, I hate the gas station. Just get rid of the gas station and I think people will be a lot more open to the discussion.” Forest City is hard at work completing what they hope will ease minds of Eastbridge naysayers. “We are very close to completing a virtual reality tour of the new area,” said Forest City Spokesperson Janelle Ayers. “People will be able to come to our office where they will put on a helmet and will be able to experience what the new town center could look like.” Ayers says that experiences will include “clutching tightly to the hands of loved ones” as you try to cross MLK which has become much busier because of the Soopers and the gas station. According to Ayers, some of the experiences feel so real, they will get your heart pounding. “We have a realistic scenario where someone rides their bike over to get a gallon of milk, and on the way home a homeless person tries to accost them. It is pretty cool.” Some other neat features of the tour allow people to try out the retail in the new town center. “If you need cash fast, you can virtually walk into the check in to cash which will most likely be centrally located in the center,” said Ayers. “Did you have a late night partying on your block, and are now a little hungry? Try the 24 hour drive through McDondalds which may end up going there. Have you been put out by driving all the way to East Colfax for an adult book store? Well, walk right over to the town center and look at what the new adult book store has to offer.” Ayers says the tour, which cost a little over $300,000, should get the residents used to the town center before it is even built. “The tour is free, and residents can come as many times as they want,” said Ayers. “We feel that if they do our virtual tour a few times, they won’t only accept the new concept, they will be excited about it.” ]]>

If you haven’t been over to see the Conservatory Green neighborhood, you need to go. Just drive safe, as there are several uncontrolled intersections, construction trucks, drivers not sure where they are going, and kids riding their bikes. In fact, the neighborhood has been built so fast, even the residents there don’t know what’s going on. “I’m just trying to enjoy the ride,” said Conservatory Green resident Blake Gibbs. “Our house was completed in three days, the road was done in two, and we had a complete block within six days. These teams are incredible.” [Read more…] about Entire Conservatory Green Neighborhood Being Built By “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

The recent Front Porch included an article discussing the proposed sports complex in section 10. The article discusses the plans for the 46 plus acre plot of land which is supposed to house a multi-use sports complex. There are no specific plans for the fields at this time, but there is some discouraging information available. [Read more…] about Unfunded Sports Complex Going to Have Multiple Iterations