Neighborhood Update for Platt Park and Washington Park
By the time you are reading this the 2023 local elections should be behind us and one of the 47 or so candidates for mayor will have risen to the top along with new City Councilpersons and a host of other items decided—gonna miss all those smiling people knocking on my door to get my vote and keep me company. Spring should finally be making a bit more of a showing after what has seemed like a longer than usual winter. Good-bye ice glaciers in the alley.
As you have noticed the Platt Park Post is back in print with a goal of remaining so, provided enough advertising revenue can be generated and (shameless plug coming) more of you join 3PA at www.3pa.org/volunteer. The new board of the Platt Park Peoples Association (3PA) has a lot of vision and energy for our community and the print version of The Post is an integral part of that vision. The board is also working to have more integration and synergy between 3PA and The South Pearl Street Association (SPSA) which will hopefully bring greater benefits to everyone in our neighborhood, businesses and neighbors. Stay tuned for more on that.
Did want to give a shout out to Platt Park resident Jolon Clark, our soon to be retired District 7 Counselman. Jolon has served two terms representing our district. As a neighbor Jolon was always looking out for Platt Park as well as the greater community. I asked him what his plans are for his post-counsel days. He said he’s not yet figured that out but he might get more involved in 3PA which of course would be a step up from his City Counsel responsibilities. Thanks for your service to the community Jolon!
One of the projects Jolon has been working on is the pedestrian/bike bridge that will cross Santa Fe at Jewel. For Platt Park residences there are a lot of wonderful things on the other side like the Overland golf course, Platte River Trail, Ruby Hill Park and Levitt Pavilion, but crossing Santa Fe on bike or on foot is at best an unpleasant task. The new bridge will make that connection much easier. The project is well underway but we’ll not see actual construction begin till 2024.
Popped into the new store at 1549 S Pearl St, Confia Collective. Owner Kerri Cole was there to give us the tour and explain what Confia is all about. The place has the look and smell of a nice spa gift shop with plenty of candles, oils, bath salts and the like but there is so much more. The welcoming sign on the door says, “Confia was created to provide fresh, fun, accessible spiritual tools for new adventurers and seekers like you”. In addition to the spa vibe there is also a side to it that Kerri would describe in a fun way as magic–crystals, zodiac, tarot cards—things that might speak to the “magic” side of life but done in a way that is fun and interesting. Nothing else quite like it on Pearl Street. Drop in and check it out and let Kerri give you the tour.
Still trying to work off those holiday pounds and get ready for summer then here’s an idea, slip on your sweats and drop into Ride Revolution at 1519 S Pearl Street. When I first saw this open up, I thought another bike shop which of course is always a good thing. Wrong, Ride is a place you join other, jump on a stationary bike and in their words, “discover your inner athlete and true best self!” When I dropped in after consuming a few tacos across the street at Bueno Suerte the front entry area was empty but behind the magic door was a sort of a party on a bike thing going on. Everyone looked like they were having fun while sweating to upbeat music and the cadence of the instructor. Looked like a fun way to burn off those tacos. Drop in or check them out at Goriderev.com.
They are starting to move the dirt again at 1551 S Pearl St home of the rumored Denshu Den—the fourth installment of the Sushi Den empire. The project was put on hold when Covid hit but obviously owners Toshi and Yazu are ready to get after things once again. No point trying to get any details out of the notoriously tight-lipped pair, we’ll just have to keep you posted as details trickle out but interesting nonetheless.
Most asked question that I’ve already written about but nobody evidentially read is “what is going to happen to the old 7-Eleven at Pearl and Louisiana”. So far, my crack investigative team has returned to me nothing to report however the answer is likely pretty clear. The site is zoned MS-5 which allows for a five-story building with commercial on the ground floor. Look for something pretty much like the building that Nixon’s Coffee Shop is in down the street.
Shout out to Aden Holt owner of One Ton Creative Design Group located at 1457 S Pearl Street. Aden is on the board of the South Pearl Street Association and is working with 3PA and the Platt Park Post to help us up our game a little and give you an even more amazing experience reading the Post (if that’s possible) as well helping 3PA and SPSA become more integrated in their efforts to serve our little community. Thanks for the help, Aden and we look forward to being a bit more dazzled!
I think I just notice a weed poking it’s head out of the otherwise brown landscape that is my yard—yep spring is coming. Hope you get out there and do whatever you do for spring rituals. Before the next issue we’ll probably bump into you at the soon to be open Farmers Market. Till then…
See you around the neighborhood,
Tom Snyder