April 24, 2012 (Denver, Colorado) – The City of Aurora and the Havana Business Improvement District were honored by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) for On Havana Street. The award was presented to Aurora Mayor Pro Tem Bob Roth, Aurora Planning Director Bob Watkins, and Havana Business Improvement District Executive Director Gayle Jetchick at the regional council’s 2014 Awards Celebration, held April 23 at the History Colorado Center.
The project earned the Gold Award in the awards program’s Planning for Economic Development category. That category recognizes exceptional contributions to regional economic development through innovative municipal and county efforts to create vibrant and vital places where people live, work and play.
The redevelopment of an aging, declining commercial corridor into a vibrant, mixed use, culturally diverse, economically viable urban center along Havana Street in Aurora, Colorado was, and still is, the goal of this project. For the past 10 years, the City of Aurora, neighbors and businesses have worked on revitalizing the Havana corridor through programs focusing on sustainable infill redevelopment, creating vibrant activity centers, providing regional bicycle trail connections, creating a unique district identity and streetscape plan, building upon the city’s multicultural community spirit with an emphasis on small business, jobs and economic development.
DRCOG’s Local Government Awards program has recognized local governments and their employees for regional leadership and service since 1982.