EDGEWATER COUNCIL Mobility Study Is My Top Priority Page 4
THE GREAT OUTDOORS Denver Audubon Celebrating 50th Anniversary Page 5
UNDER THE DOME Looking Forward To Hearing Your Thoughts Page 12
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Gazette NEIGHBORHOOD
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| SLOAN’S LAKE | WEST COLFAX | TWO CREEKS | WEST HIGHLAND February 18 – March 17, 2019 • ngazette.com • FREE
Living CarbonFree: How Hard Can That Be? n By
Mike McKibbin
T
here’s living off the grid, then there’s living carbon-free. Wheat Ridge resident Eric Wilson worked on his nearly 70-year-old home for five years to make it energy efficient and carbon-free. “I pay a lot of attention to my carbon footprint and things like how much I drive and how much meat I eat,” Wilson said in an interview. “Since I work in the field of home energy efficiency, we thought it made sense to do this with our house.” Wilson joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden in 2010, has performed energy audits and design assistance for a state energy program and conducted blower door tests on tribal housing. But Wilson said such a background is not necessary to undertake this type of project. Wilson said he and his wife bought their first home in 2012 — a less than 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, singlefamily home built in 1950 in the eastern part of Wheat Ridge, near 38th Avenue and Harlan Street. Continued on page 8
THIS MURAL ADORNING LAMAR STATION PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER IN LAKEWOOD was created during the 40 West Art District’s West Colfax Mural Fest, hosted annually at the Plaza; artist Caitlyn Shea created it. PHOTO COURTESY BROAD STREET REALTY.
Black And White House At Sloan’s Among Mayor’s Design Winners n By
S
Laurie Dunklee
loan’s Lake dog-walkers might do a double-take when they pass the Black and White House, on 23rd Avenue, just east of the park. In this neighborhood of mostly single-story ranch houses, the Black and White House is no exception – save for the big glass cube rising from its middle. The 1960s home won a Mayor’s Design Award for its transformation into a contemporary home with a two-story glass atrium. “This design won because it’s a modern redo that fits the block and the neighborhood,” said Alexandra Foster of Denver Community Planning and Development, which runs the annual awards. “Its scale is the same as the rest of the block, and the way it orients to the street. Lots of new projects in northwest Denver are not like the rest of the block. This is modern and interesting, but it doesn’t stand out in a negative way.” The basic shoebox-shaped house had remained fundamentally unchanged when Erin Little and Marc Perusse bought it two years ago. It was the perfect candidate for a remodel because the foundation was strong. “The foundation was two times as thick as it needed to be, and the house could really handle anything we wanted to do with it,” Little told Denver Life magazine. The couple wanted a view of Sloan’s Lake, as well as a light-filled space, so they hired architect Matt Davis of Davis Urban to rethink the house. Davis left standing the existing home and the existing garage – popping the top – and connected the two by designing a two-story glass cube as a modern bridge between them. The cube creates a grand dining room and a loft bedroom-office. Little and Perusse nicknamed their
finished 3,400-square-foot home “the black and white house” because the materials are limited to white painted brick with black custom steel windows and doors, with a dark charcoal standing seam siding at the addition. The five-bedroom house, which also includes a finished basement, won a Mayor’s Design Award in the “This is home” category, honoring single-family residences that exhibit “excellence in architecture, exterior design, and placemaking.” Most of the 17 award winners for 2018
were older places that were saved from neglect to preserve some of Denver’s past— perhaps reflecting a sense of so much history being lost to the massive building boom. “The history and character of our neighborhoods is important to residents,” said Foster. “People live in a neighborhood because they like the look and feel of the area. The award-winners fit their block as well as the neighborhood.” Foster said the intent of the awards, begun in 2005, is to highlight good design
and improve the public realm. Nominees represent a wide variety of projects, from new mixed-use developments to rejuvenated alleys. Anyone can nominate a project. The 2018 awards selection committee was comprised of an architect, a historic preservation leader, a city planning consultant, and a member of CityBuild (a community of millennials building civic engagement). “The judges are interested in city life: Continued on page 2
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ed Pearl – Local Meteorologist With Impressive Career n By
Meghan Godby
W
eather is all around us. It’s the fabric of small talk and the narrative of our morning coffee. But although we interact with it every day, it’s not something most people think about. This isn’t the case for Ed Pearl, a Lakewood resident who has been practicing meteorology for decades. Ed grew up in Chicago but has lived in Lakewood since 1979. He’s drawn to the region for the same reasons many of us are - proximity to the mountains and convenience to downtown. His interest in weather began in childhood. “When I was 10, the forecast showed a high of 53 with a windy storm system to our north,” Ed remembers. “I was such an observer of weather, that I looked at the [clouds] outside [...] and grabbed my winter jacket.” His schoolmates, dressed for warmer weather, gave him some strange looks. But Ed had faith in his early forecasting skills. Continued on page 2
LAKEWOOD RESIDENT ED PEARL HAS BEEN PRACTICING METEOROLOGY – forecasting, consulting and research – for decades. PHOTO COURTESY ED PEARL