{"id":1678,"date":"2012-02-08T00:23:57","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T07:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2012-02-08T00:23:57","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T07:23:57","slug":"gay-orientated-neighborhood-to-be-marketed-in-stapleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=1678","title":{"rendered":"Gay-Orientated Neighborhood to be Marketed in Stapleton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>\nWith home building scheduled to start this year on the last large undeveloped area in south Stapleton, Forest City is considering creating a neighborhood marketed specifically to gay and lesbian buyers. The Filing 16 neighborhood would be called \u201cGaypleton\u201d drawing on a longstanding nickname used by homosexuals who reside in Stapleton, said Charlie DeAngelo of the Forest City marketing department.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been aware of the Gaypleton nickname for several years,\u201d said DeAngelo. \u201cQuite frankly, we didn\u2019t know what to make of it at first, but clearly GLTB (gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual) home buyers have been an important market segment to us in Stapleton.\u201d\nDeAngelo explained that, until now, Forest City never formally tried to market to gays and lesbians. \u201cWe realize, of course, that many of our builders decorate their model homes with very gay-friendly themes, and it goes without saying the HGTV dream home sweepstakes really put Stapleton on the map with gay and lesbian buyers across the county,\u201d said DeAngelo. \u201cBut Gaypleton is proactive. We just think it\u2019s time for Forest City to come out, so to speak, and show we\u2019re not taking the gay and lesbian market for granted.\u201d\n\nDeAngelo also concedes that Stapleton has lost some favor with GLTB buyers as the demographic of Stapleton has skewed heavily toward white, heterosexual couples obsessed with raising their children.\n\u201cBy marketing an actual neighborhood under the \u2018Gaypleton\u2019 name, we really want GLTBs to know they are welcome to make their home in Stapleton– and we have an especially fabulous neighborhood awaiting them.\u201d DeAngelo stressed that Gaypleton would not look too much different from the rest of Stapleton, but there would be subtle differences.\n\u201cWe envision a large number of Martha Stewart type homes, similar to Central Park North,\u201d said DeAngelo. \u201cWe also have our eye on the David Weeklys and on those edgy Wonderland homes\u2014the ones with the fountain in courtyard–being built in Central Park West.\u201d\n\u201cWe\u2019d do without playground equipment in the pocket parks but instead offer amenities such as beach volleyball courts,\u201d said DeAngelo. \u201cIf we do a pool, it would be small but we would include a huge sun deck with lots of bar-b-que grills.\u201d\n\u00a0Mark Ellis, who is gay and moved to Stapleton in 2003 with his partner Chaz, likes the Gaypleton concept. \u201cStapleton was really cool when we first got here. But the place kind of got taken over by straight couples and their kids.\u201d Ellis said a gay-orientated neighborhood would help recapture the early ambience of Stapleton when hundreds of gays relocated from all parts of the Denver area.\n\u201cThe place just isn\u2019t the same as it was 7 \u2013 8 years ago.\u00a0 It would be so nice to have a neighborhood again where you can sit out on the front porch with friends, open a nice bottle of red, share some tapas and not have the evening ruined by a bunch of screaming kids riding their tricycles up and down the street all evening,\u201d said Ellis.\n\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I like my straight neighbors and their kids, but I\u2019m a nervous wreck about my carpet and furniture if they bring their children into the house. And I can only stand so much chat about what kindergarten is best or the injustice of not having enough openings on the Stingray swim team.\u201d\n\u00a0Adam Carlisle, who lives on Uinta Street with his partner Steve, opposes Forest City\u2019s plans to create and market a gay-orientated neighborhood in Stapleton. \u201cWe moved out of the Cheeseman Park neighborhood a few years back because we were tired of living in a \u2018gay-etto\u2019,\u201d said Carlisle, noting that he and his partner like the novelty of being the only gay couple on their block. Carlisle said he and Steve often get invited to parties when neighbors want to \u201cshow off\u201d to visiting relatives from places like Castle Rock or Oklahoma how open-minded they are to live on a block with a gay couple.\n\u201cWhat Forest City doesn\u2019t understand is that Gaypleton is a community, not a place,\u201d said Carlisle. \u201cYou don\u2019t even have to live in Stapleton to be considered a Gaypleton member. \u201c Carlisle added that monthly socials under the Gaypleton name are not held in Stapleton, but at a bar off of East Colfax. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be caught dead holding our FACs at Toby Keith\u2019s, Famous Dave\u2019s or the Islamorada Fish Co.\u201d\n\u201cMaybe Stapleton isn\u2019t as gay as it used to be but it\u2019s still plenty gay,\u201d said Carlisle. \u201cForest City should leave well enough alone.\u201d\nSyrha Singleton, a lesbian who lives on Galena Street, is also not pleased by the Gaypleton neighborhood concept. \u201cJust consider the name: \u2018Gay\u2019-pleton. As usual, gays are getting all the attention, while lesbians, bi\u2019s and transgens are lumped together as if there isn\u2019t any difference. Well there is a difference.\u201d\nDeAngelo said it would be impractical to come up with additional neighborhoods catering to sexual orientation subgroups and hopes that lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders will take to the Gaypleton concept. DeAngelo also said the success of marketing a neighborhood to a specific group may lead to other initiatives. DeAngelo noted that the Jewish community in Stapleton has adopted the nickname \u201cJewpleton.\u201d He said they may consider building a Jewish-orientated neighborhood when homebuilding starts north of I-70 in a few years. ]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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