INC PROPOSED RESOLUTION RE: DENVER’S ACQUISITION OF ALL OR PORTIONS OF LORETTO HEIGHTS CAMPUS (CURRENTLY KNOWN AS COLORADO HEIGHTS)

Whereas, Loretto Heights Campus is approximately 78 acres in size and is generally located between Federal Boulevard on the east, Irving Street on the west, Amherst Ave on the north, and Dartmouth Avenue on the south, and has been operated as a school and community cultural asset for over 125 years; and

Whereas, the Loretto Heights campus is owned by the Teikyo Foundation; and

Whereas, the Teikyo Foundation has made clear their intention to close the Colorado Heights University campus and seek a buyer or multiple buyers for the Loretto Heights property; and

Whereas, the main tower on the Loretto Heights campus is on the National Register but is not designated as a Denver landmark; and

Whereas, the DPS DSST College View Middle School intends to exercise their option to purchase the 6 acres of land on Loretto Heights campus, that they currently use and intend on building a cafeteria on; and

Whereas, the local registered neighborhood organizations, residents, and council representatives have all expressed a desire to keep the main Tower 1890 historic building standing and an interest in seeing some or all of the Loretto Heights campus transformed into a public use area that maintains the cultural heritage and beauty of this pastoral campus in the south west area of the city of Denver; and

Whereas, there is no mechanism in place that would prevent Loretto Heights from being sold in whole or in part for single and multi-unit residential development; and

Whereas, Denver needs additional park land to support its rapidly growing population; and

Whereas, given its size (78 acres), Loretto Heights campus is one of the best opportunity that exists for Denver to acquire a large and contiguous parcel of land within its boundaries for the future enjoyment and use of its citizens as public park land; and

Now Therefore, Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation calls upon the public officials of the City and County of Denver to

(1) commit to the assignment of a city planner to start a planning process for the Loretto Heights Campus while pursuing possible uses of the Loretto Heights Campus as public park land and for the public good,

(2) immediately commence contract negotiations with the Teikyo Foundation with the intended goal of entering into a purchase and sale agreement for all or portions of the Loretto Heights campus and all of its buildings,

(3) prevent all or part of the campus from being privately bought and developed into residential housing, and

(4) create a position statement that speaks to the Cities desire to reserve adequate amounts of the Loretto Heights campus as park land.