The Denver Post: Nine of Denver's largest cultural institutions would receive a windfall of capital improvement cash under a mayor's office plan to spend the last of the money voters agreed to borrow for building improvements in 2007.
The $57 million remaining from the Better Denver bond initiatives would fund a new shared parking lot for The Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature & Science; a new amphitheater in Ruby Hill Park and a pedestrian bridge over Champa Street connecting the Denver Performing Arts Center to the Colorado Convention Center parking garage.
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By putting this money into capital improvements and public works projects, the Mayor's done an amazing job here of supporting the arts in a way that cuts out the usual complaint about directly giving money to arts institutions. Plus, the city will see some of this money back - in directing traffic for the Denver Center to city-owned parking at the Convention Center rather than street lots, running municipal water to Red Rocks and creating a new publicly-owned performance space which could be used as a commercial road ampitheatre for music artists. I appreciate, also, that the CSO did not entirely lose out on funding because of its failed fund-matching venture - it's encouraging that they at least received their repairs and renovations budget proposed to the City.
It's important to remember in here that any funds allocated here still have to be matched by the organizations - so if McNichols can't pony up 5.5 million, for example, the funding goes away again. Most of these numbers are much more reasonable than the CSO's failed $30 million campaign though, so hopefully they'll be able to find the money and win the bids. Hopefully beneficiaries of these organizations (and former, like me) find a few dollars to toss their way - they need it now more than ever.
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