Denver Mayor Says Downtown Is Back, Announces Pop-Up Programs

Downtown is not dead, says Mayor Michael Hancock, who held a gathering on April 7 to talk about the city’s plans to reinvigorate the downtown area, one attended by sports team mascots and a group of entrepreneurs who will put temporary shops in empty retail spaces on the 16th Street Mall — which will break ground next week on a major renovation — as part of the Popup Denver program.

Guerilla Garden, a street-art studio founded by Jolt, a Denver native and graffiti artist (and former curator of Westword’s Artopia event), will take over space in the University Building. “As a north Denver native, somebody that grew up with the culture of the 16th Street Mall, I remember coming down here to Woolworth’s to get a pizza with my grandma,” Jolt shared. “This was a hub for culture…