Burnham Yard community meeting addresses Denver residents' concerns, changes for proposed Broncos site
Inside the La Alma Recreation Center, residents gathered around new renderings of what the future of Burnham Yard could look like.
"It's exciting, but then it's shocking," said Mark James Duran, a La Alma Lincoln Park resident. "This place where I grew up now, it's going to be a bigger place."
This marks the third community meeting for the La Alma Lincoln Park community since Broncos' leadership announced their plans to build the new Broncos stadium in the former railyard.
This week, the team shared their latest updates for the plan, which they say incorporated a lot of input from stakeholders, the city, and the residents who neighbor the property.
"We heard about open spaces, safety, connection, year-round amenities," said Broncos President Damani Leech.
Leech says they hope to have the initial phase of the project completed: the Broncos stadium, which will be surrounded by parking space similar to what people see at Mile High currently. As additional phases are built, and more buildings are added to the Burnham Yard site, they will convert those areas into structured parking.
"[You'll] see three, four-story buildings. You see open spaces for people to spend some time, for kids to play, and a] village center where people can walk around. They can eat. They can shop. Feel safe and comfortable," said Leech.
They're also working with the state and RTD to improve safety along the rail line, reduce train noise, and raise the tracks at intersections where people can travel across freely.
"Having it be a productive part of the city that's generating tax revenue and is actually nice looking and not the eyesore that is exciting to me," said Kim Fitosa, a resident of La Alma Lincoln Park.
It's a welcomed change even for lifelong residents of the neighborhood.
"It's going to [go] from something besides railroad tracks and weeds to something beautiful; buildings, stores, whatever's going to be there," Duran.
Other residents still fear these changes will push the community out if the city does not adopt additional safeguards.
"No tax hikes and no displacement. Not one person gets displaced from this community," said Helen Giron, a member of the La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood association.
"We fought for what we had, and we did the best we could to keep the little bit we got," said Cathy Prieto.
The Denver Broncos are still working on finalizing plans for the project and adopting a community benefits agreement, but they hope to get started on the project early in 2027.
