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Mobile Workshops

“There is so much we can learn from each other about the challenges and benefits of collaboration. Cities must leverage resources and funding opportunities with their neighbors to adapt and move forward. We hope you see the results of these efforts in and around Denver when you visit for what might be the ultimate mobile workshop on regional collaboration.” – John W. Hickenlooper, Mayor, Denver

Download Conference Brochure -- Explore Regional Collaboration & Denver's Mobile Workshops

The Mobile Workshops are offered by Host City Denver, Colorado. Space will be limited so sign up early for the Mobile Workshops that interest you most. Mobile Workshops are included in the general conference registration fee and are for paid conference delegates only*.  You can register for mobile workshops using the online registration process which will be available by June 18. 

During the November 30- December 4 Conference, limited on-site registration will be available on a first-come, first served basis. 

*Spouses and guests are not eligible to attend mobile workshops but are encouraged to register and participate in the planned spouse/guest tours being coordinated. Spouse/guest registration is available through the online registration portal. For more information, click here.

Mobile Workshop List

Smaller Cities Development of Sports, Event, and Community Venues (NEWLY ADDED)

This Mobile Workshop tours two Denver Metro communities that have developed sports and event venues to provide their areas with activity centers and future growth and potential development opportunities. The Prairie Gateway Project is one of the most innovative public-private partnerships in the nation.  In 2004, Commerce City purchased 917 acres of the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal from the federal government for redevelopment and entered a public-private partnership with  Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE) to create a soccer stadium for the Colorado Rapids. The project is located adjacent to a 27-square mile urban wildlife refuge, with the 18,000-seat professional soccer stadium, a 24-field athletic complex, and facilities for concerts and other events. Additionally, the Prairie Gateway is home to the Commerce City Civic Center which houses the City Manager, and Community Development offices, the Commerce City Police Department, and Adams City High School.

With a population of only 4,800 and boasting only 3 single-family homes, the City of Glendale’s 366 acres is completed surrounded by the City of Denver.  But in 2005, the City set out to revolutionize and revitalize its community through the development of the first rugby-specific sports complex in the United States---Infinity Park.  Opened in September 2007, Infinity Park Stadium is home to the Glendale Raptors Rugby Football program, including Division I and II men’s and women’s teams, high school boy’s and girl’s teams, and youth rugby for ages 5 – 15.  It hosts both national and international rugby competitions --all part of the rebranding of Glendale as Rugbytown, USA.  In addition to the stadium, Infinity Park includes a 21,000 square foot, state-of-the-art event center; a 35,000 square foot recreation center; a new 8-acre park with a second rugby pitch; and the High Altitude Training Center.  Funded through a combination of certificates of participation, revenue bonds, grants, and open space and lodging taxes, the development of Infinity Park has spurred the City’s economy and brought new national hotel, restaurant, and retail chains into the area.

•  Wednesday, December 1, 9AM –Noon
• Thursday, December 2, 1PM -- 4PM
•  Friday, December 3, 1PM -- 4PM 

FasTracks Transit System & TOD, (Transit Oriented Development)

In November 2004, voters in the eight county Regional Transportation District, (RTD), supported the FasTracks Program.  FasTracks is a multi-billion dollar comprehensive regional transit expansion plan to build 122 miles of new commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit, 21,000 new parking spaces at light rail and bus stations, and enhance bus service for easy, convenient bus/rail connections across the eight-county district.  Development at and around the system's transit stations is an exciting element of the FasTracks program.  As the Denver region's public transit agency, RTD plays an important role in the implementation of Transit Oriented Development (TOD). TOD is characterized by a pedestrian-oriented environment that allows people to live, work, shop and play in places accessible by transit.   RTD's TOD mission is to help facilitate TOD opportunities that increase ridership or enhance transit investments throughout the District through station design and close coordination with local jurisdictions and developers.

• Wednesday December 1, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday December 3, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
   

Scientific Cultural Facilities District, (SCFD)

Since 1989, the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) has distributed funds from a 1/10 of 1% sales and use tax to cultural facilities throughout the seven-county Denver, Colorado metropolitan area. The funds support cultural facilities whose primary purpose is to enlighten and entertain the public through the production, presentation, exhibition, advancement and preservation of art, music, theatre, dance, zoology, botany, natural history and cultural history.  The SCFD is a unique collaboration between rural, suburban and urban counties. The distribution budget for scientific and cultural organizations in the seven-county area is approximately $40 million annually. And we've discovered that funding on that scale, delivered to a local area, makes a profound impact.

• Wednesday December 1, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday December 3, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The U.S. 36 Multi-Modal Transportation Project and Corridor Coalition Building

Come learn about a Coalition of elected officials and businesses that has worked for the past decade to build consensus for the land use and transportation planning along the U.S. 36 – the primary corridor connecting Denver to Boulder, Colorado. Hear about the multi-modal project vision along with the future community development plans reshaping five distinct communities in suburban Denver. In partnership with Colorado Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the U.S. 36 Coalition has effectively planned and advocated for transforming this 1950s-built toll road into a 21^st Century multi-modal corridor that attracts and retains higher education, IT, federal laboratories and high tech sectors.  See how a coal mining town has maintained its unique downtown charm, new transit oriented developments adjacent to Bus Rapid Transit stations and modern day suburban cities.  We will end our trip in the free standing community of Boulder, where we’ll spend a little time on the spectacular Pearl Street Mall. 

• Wednesday December 1, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development (R&D). NREL's mission and strategy are focused on advancing the U.S. Department of Energy's and our nation's energy goals. The laboratory's scientists and researchers support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. At the core of this strategic direction are NREL's research and technology development competencies.  These areas span from understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels, and ultimately to the use of renewable electricity and fuels in homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles. The laboratory thereby directly contributes to our nation's goal for finding new renewable ways to power our homes, businesses, and cars.  If you are visiting NREL, security procedures require that you show government-issued photo identification upon check in before you can receive a visitor's badge.  The Denver region is proud to have NREL as part of our community as it leads research activities to exemplify Colorado’s new energy economy.

• Wednesday December 1, 9:00 a.m. – Noon  (Security requirements limit registration to forty U.S. Citizens)
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.    (Security requirements limit registration to forty U.S. Citizens)

Providing Sustainable Recycling Solutions through a Public/Private Partnerships

In 2005, the City of Denver decided to switch from its cumbersome dual-stream recycling program to a single-stream recycling system with the help of Waste Management.  As this plan was to be an investment in the future, it was to be phased in over five years. Initially, 12,000 containers were placed during the first phase.  With public support and demand, the Mayor and the Manager of Public Works worked to speed up funding and the City was able to complete the program by the end of 2006 - three years early.

Since the introduction of single-stream, collected tons of recyclable materials in Denver has grown substantially. In 2004, the last full year of Denver's dual-stream program, 16,000 tons were collected. In 2007, nearly 26,000 tons were recycled.

Waste Management will conduct a Mobile Workshop to include a tour of Waste Management’s Material Recovery Facility where Denver’s recyclables are processed; a tour of a regional Waste Management electronics demanufacturing plant; and a brief presentation about the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site landfill-gas-to-energy plant – where landfill gas is currently collected to create electricity to power almost 3,000 homes in Colorado.  The workshop will review the different areas of sustainability; recycling, e-waste and gas-to-energy.

• Wednesday December 1, 9:00 a.m. -Noon
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday December 3, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

River Vision Implementation Plan, (RVIP)

Generously hosted by the Greenway Foundation with presentations in Arapahoe, Adams and Denver County.

No longer simply an incredible vision needing a foothold, the River Vision master planning effort focuses on the future of the South Platte River Corridor.  The lower downtown area in Denver for example, was a typical manufacturing, transportation rail corridor.  Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, visionary leaders with a western ‘can do spirit’, set forth on creating new open space, and a livable, retail and action packed destination, with now some of the highest property tax rates in Colorado. 

These types of efforts to reclaim and recreate river and waterway areas can transform a city, from encouraging healthy living, to spurring economic development to increasing the property tax base.

Come tour key stops to see where we are today and where we will be tomorrow. You will visit Arapahoe, Adams and Denver Counties and will conclude at the unique Confluence and Commons Park area in Denver’s lower downtown. 

With these points of interest along the river being created, the next generation of leaders with  a continued spirit, not only see what the river can become, but can make it a reality.

• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday December 3, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Re-use of Major Facilities; Lowry, Stapleton and Fitzsimons – This mobile workshop will visit three recent re-developed communities in the Denver Metro region. The closure of two military installations and the move of Denver’s international airport from Stapleton to DIA, created the potential for holes in the urban landscape and the loss of jobs.  This tour will show how the Denver region has worked together to turn these abandoned facilities into two new urbanism communities and Fitzsimons Army Medical Center into a Life Science District.  The former 1600 acre Lowry Air Force Training Center was closed under the federal base closure process.  It has been redeveloped into a mixed-use community through the creation of the Lowry Redevelopment Center by Denver and Aurora.  Because of the inadequacies of Stapleton and inability to meet the expansion needs, the region coalesced to identify a new location, DIA.  This left the 7 square miles of land at Stapleton available for redevelopment.  Following the sustainability guidelines detailed in the Green Book, a new cutting edge community is well underway.

• Wednesday December 1, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday December 2, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday December 3, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Questions: If you have any registration questions, please contact 1-888-319-3864 or 703-449-6418 or email nlcregandhousing@jspargo.com.