Sun Valley residents and city officials gathered on Thursday at the south end of the neighborhood to celebrate the opening of Flo, a 212-unit apartment building for elderly adults and people living with disabilities.
Flo is the seventh and final Sun Valley apartment building to be opened by Denver Housing Authority.
The neighborhood was once populated by public housing in the form of brick townhomes and single-family houses. It was one of the economically poorest and culturally richest in the city.
But a decade ago, the city tore those homes down, displacing over 1,000 low-income residents as it set out to build a denser, mixed-income community.
“What we are celebrating today is the fulfillment of a promise that we made to the community, and the result of all of this is the result of the vision that they expressed to us at that specific moment in time,” said Joaquín Cintrón Vega, CEO of Denver Housing Authority.
Much like DHA’s six other Sun Valley buildings, Flo’s rent is capped for permanent affordability. Sun Valley residents displaced in the initial teardown of the neighborhood are also given priority.
It was built using DHA funds, in addition to federal grant dollars and money from previous city bonds.
Across the seven buildings, DHA now offers 965 affordable housing units.
The neighborhood’s transformation isn’t complete.
While DHA has finished its housing projects, there are still private developers who plan to erect tall housing developments on empty tracts of land.
And residents are still hoping for a major amenity to open — the slated Sun Valley Riverfront Park. The first phase of construction, which would open a playground, a splash pad, an event plaza and gardens, is expected to finish in 2026.
If the upcoming Vibrant Denver bond passes, the park will receive an injection of funding for the second phase of construction.
Jeanne Granville, a longtime advocate for the neighborhood and president of the Sun Valley Community Coalition, described Flo’s opening as a “beginning” for the neighborhood. She said it still needs major investment to ensure residents have access to mobility, food and more.
“In terms of the foundation, the built environment, we're getting really, really close,” Granville said.
Vega said that DHA’s commitment to the neighborhood isn’t finished yet. They still have a responsibility to the residents in the community, he said, and they’re leading the park’s construction.
And there’s now a major question mark regarding the future of the neighborhood.
With the Denver Broncos announcing they plan to build a new stadium in the adjacent Burnham Yard, residents have questions about whether the NFL team has fulfilled its original promises to the neighborhood, and what will happen to the land its existing stadium was built on.
