The East Colfax neighborhood doesn't have a great reputation. There are notions that the corridor is crime-ridden or is heavily blighted, but Monica Martinez, The Fax Partnership's executive director, said residents and businesses owners don't claim that narrative and they're ready to showcase the neighborhood and community they cherish.
They hope the creation of a cultural district will help that happen.
The community gathered last week to reveal the logo for the East Colfax Cultural District, a self-designated district that will work to amplify community voices and let visitors know that East Colfax is a place of creativity and culture.
"This is going to be a logo that we're going to be proud of and be able to use for decades to come," Martinez said. "What we want to do is represent this brand up and down the corridor...and this logo claims the corridor for the community."
The Fax is a nonprofit organization that's focused on improving East Colfax via affordable housing, improving transit and supporting local businesses on the community's terms.
In October, The Fax bought two motels on East Colfax to push their housing goals. The two motels, The Westerner and Sand & Sage motels located at 8405 and 8415 E. Colfax, will house those experiencing homelessness and in the future they'll be redeveloped as affordable housing.
Their goal is revitalization without gentrification or displacement.
The mission is the same for the cultural district.
Martinez and The Fax started working on the cultural district about two years ago when they applied for a city grant, the Community Development Block Grant Program, for $150,000 to get the ball rolling.
The Fax began reaching out to businesses and residents along the corridor from Monaco Parkway to Yosemite Street, gauging interest, learning about neighbors' visions and seeing how they could assist in making the corridor profitable for businesses and convenient for residents.
"We decided to do a cultural district because the community came out and wanted a cultural district," Martinez said. "And, why? Because we wanted to claim East Colfax for the community members and the business owners that live and work here now. We thought a district that claims this community means that future residents and businesses that do come, will come in and will get absorbed by this community, not replace it."
Martinez said with the decision made to turn a portion of the corridor into a cultural district, a logo was needed. The Fax received another grant from the Office of Economic Development and Opportunity to begin working on a logo that was revealed March 8.
The vision for the logo was to be bright, vibrant and to pay homage to East Colfax's vast immigrant population from Burmese residents to Ethiopians. Graphic designer Samantha Hutchinson-Ouranos weaved those ideas together blending bright yellows, greens and blues. The "East Colfax" looks like a motel sign equipped with neon-like bulbs. And the slogan, "Where international tastes come together."
Martinez said the logo will be a brand for the neighborhood. For now, businesses and residents can put the logo up on their windows and, in the future the logo can be branded on benches and flown as flags on light posts.
The Fax also plans to offer social media training to businesses owners so they can promote the brand, but most importantly, their businesses, Martinez added.
"It's all about trying to help these business owners get more customers in the door and really help folks realize this is a unique and special place," Martinez said.
At the unveiling event, Councilmember Chris Herndon spoke about the neighborhood's tenacity and Executive Director City Planning and Development and Deputy Mayor Laura Aldrete applauded The Fax for utilizing adaptive reuse with their housing project and recognized their efforts to keep East Colfax authentic. Several business owners also spoke at the event including EastFax Tap owner Tor Ericksen and Quince Coffee House co-owners Katharine Hiltbrand and Jenna Greenwood.
All the owners recently took over their spaces during the pandemic and have been working to keep their businesses afloat both with dealing with COVID and the foot traffic on the corridor.
Ericksen said the district will elevate Denverites' opinion of the area. Hiltbrand added that the district will support businesses and further strengthen community bonds.
"What we likely do have in common is a sense of pride and belonging," Hiltbrand said. "As the East Colfax Cultural District is established and the logo begins to appear in every corner, the sense of community will grow. New businesses like us will have the mentorship of long-standing ventures and we will be able to say that we are part of something greater than ourselves."
At the event, business owners and residents were given tote bags, cookies, pens and pins all with the new logo on it to start that rebranding.
Martinez said for now the district will be a self-designation but in the future they may apply to be an arts district through the state. For now, the focus is pushing the brand, inviting people to come to East Colfax and having residents take back the identity of East Colfax.
"There's so much more to this community than the random shootings that occasionally people hear about. There's a community that loves this place where they live," Martinez said. "This community has a lot going for it. With this brand and this logo, people will start to recognize that there's a reason to come here and go to these businesses and experience something unique."
