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inside ases

Learning Opportunities

DJ Cardi, Sustainability Park project leader,
said, “We don’t see the park being in silos. It’s not
going to be a renewable energy ‘section.’ We’re
taking a holistic approach to developing sustain-
able and vibrant urban communities.”
With a national launch of request for Letters
of Interest in the works, CRES is inviting rotating
technologies and programs for the park as new
ideas, like small wind and biomass, are proposed.
The team can’t imagine a time when it will feel the
park is completed.

“A big part of the success is that it doesn’t end with the park,” said Frank. “What we do allows different kinds of technologies to be implemented throughout Denver and perhaps throughout the nation in urban environments.”

15 Years of CRES To watch a video of CRES’s history visit solartoday. org/video.

In addition to serving as an experimental testbed, each park demonstration will have complementary community-engaging programs. Educational programs will be geared to groups such as Denver Public Schools, community colleges with workforce development programs and nonprofits with outreach and job training missions.

The project is quite different than the public meetings and yearly conferences CRES has traditionally done, according to Frank. “Here we have an ongoing project in the middle of a metro area that that can touch and teach thousands of people,” said Frank. “This is an incredible opportunity to gain traction.”

Connecting the Community

CRES invited utilities, city planners, architects and community members into the initial planning process through a design charette. Frank and Cardi anticipate even more possibilities for the park from the connections they are forging.

“Collaboration is at the core of this. Given the holistic nature of [the park] and the fact that we’re trying to engage so many different stakeholders, it’s not something that can be done alone,” said Cardi. “It requires engaging the community, and through that you build partnerships and bonds.”