Highlands' Garden Village (HGV) is located in northwest Denver 10 minutes from downtown. The community sits on 27 acres of land that housed the former Elitch Gardens amusement park. HGV encompasses elements of successful mixed-use communities and includes a variety of mixed-income residential homes including for-sale single-family homes, town home and co-housing, and senior and multi-family affordable and market-rate rental apartments. As in traditional communities, a school, cultural amenities, open space, and economically viable commerce complete the village. All the buildings have been designed using a community-based design review process, which has actively sought and incorporated public input in the design.

The edges of the development reflect the adjacent, established neighborhood: new single-family homes face older ones. Residential areas accommodate a diverse mix of residents from various incomes, ages, family structures and lifestyles. The north edge of the property runs along the West 38th Avenue commercial corridor and will provide residents with a retail center, where they can easily walk to shops. Highlands' Garden Village's pedestrian-friendly design provides safe and convenient walking paths. A network of gardens, plazas, and public open spaces create a vibrant, friendly neighborhood with ample public meeting space. The Denver Botanic Gardens designed public gardens, green space and the entrance park at the corner of 38th Avenue and Tennyson Street. Many of the historic features of Elitch's entryway have been restored – including the diagonal walkway and the brick planters.

At the center of the community, the Elitch Theater Foundation, a local non-profit, is renovating the historic Elitch Theater, creating a local and regional performing arts center and cultural hub for the community. Formal restoration of the theater is scheduled to begin in fall of 2005. The dome that housed the historic carousel has been restored and includes a meditative labyrinth as a form of public art at its center. Gardens and walking paths surround the carousel.

The Denver Arts and Technology Academy will relocate to Highlands' Garden Village from West 29th Avenue. The public charter school provides a public education option to Highlands' Garden Village families and others in the surrounding neighborhoods. In this place so loved by Denverites, Perry Rose continues to create a healthy, vibrant, mixed-use community, with diverse housing, meaningful work opportunities, convenient services, and places to pursue educational, cultural, and spiritual interests. Highlands' Garden Village has all the elements essential to the soul of a real neighborhood – people of all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles, united by culture, community, and a sense of history.

---