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MorningMagazine_2025-03-11 Gabrielle Mendoza
Redtail Ridge Construction
Developers have secured $88 million in bonds to fund a mixed-use development project in Louisville.
Funding for Redtail Ridge was amassed by the real estate firm Sterling Bay and the special district financing group Piper Sandler Special District Group. The 2.6 million-square-foot project is designed to meet the demand for life sciences, research and development, bio-manufacturing, offices, and industrial facilities. That’s according to The Daily Camera.
The property, located along U.S. 36, formerly belonged to a data storage tech company aptly named StorageTek.
AventHealth Avista plans to build a new hospital on the property as well, having purchased land at Redtail Ridge.
The developers also plan to use the land to build a campus featuring tons of office building space, as well as a 20,000-square-foot amenity center with a gym, lounge, and conference center. It’s also set to have nearly 200 acres of outdoor space with trails, pedestrian paths, and bike lanes.
With all its different uses in mind, the development is projected to generate over 10,000 jobs.
Redtail Ridge will be positioned near four major bioscience programs at CU Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Denver, and CU Denver. According to The Daily Camera, this location is ideal for the future life sciences hub.
Construction is set to begin this spring.
Chapman Drive Trail Upgrade
One of the Boulder area’s most heavily-used hiking and biking trails is getting a major upgrade.
Chapman Drive is a popular historic trail that connects Boulder Canyon to Flagstaff Road.
An estimated $1.4 million construction project is expected to begin at the trail’s base this week, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. The project will add more parking, a turnaround for trailers, a new picnic area, and a new pedestrian bridge west of the existing bridge. Both the city and county will fund the project.
The project has sparked debate over its necessity, especially the bridge. Some residents argue that since the already-existing crossing works just fine, another one isn’t needed.
Pushback intensified after city officials initially suggested construction would cut off all access to the bottom of Chapman Drive until fall 2025. That was until Jeff Haley, deputy director of visitor experience and infrastructure for Open Space and Mountain Parks clarified that the trail will remain accessible — but users will have to cross Boulder Canyon Drive to get there until construction is finished. The nearby underpass and parking lot will be closed.
Haley added that the bridge was largely initiated by Boulder County and the Colorado Department of Transportation. He also said that while many people use the existing bridge without issue he nonetheless supports the project, saying it will improve access for families, older adults and others.
Councilmember Mark Wallach has opposed the project, saying it is too expensive at a time the city should be reining in spending.
Work is expected to be completed by June 2025.
For links to maps and the most up-to-date info on the project, as well as extra details on all of today’s headlines, head to KGNU.org.
SCOTUS Takes CO Conversion Therapy Case
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case about conversion therapy bans, brought on by the state of Colorado.
Colorado is one of 20 or so states that have some sort of ban on the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.
The state outlawed the practice for minors in 2019, with a law that bars licensed mental health professionals in Colorado from engaging in conversion therapy with patients who are under eighteen, according to Colorado Newsline.
A challenge to the law was brought by a conservative religious law firm called Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents a Colorado Springs therapist. They argue that the law violates a counselor’s right to free speech.
But Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser says the state law is humane and smart. He told Crooked Media’s What A Day podcast that overturning it would set a dangerous precedent.
Weiser: “If this cruel and this unaccepted practice of so-called gay conversion therapy is given First Amendment protection and Colorado’s decision to regulate a practice that both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association say has no value and is harmful, it’ll be a sad day for America. It’ll be the turning of an arc away from justice, away from equality.”
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a similar challenge to the Colorado law back in 2023.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in this latest challenge in its next term, which starts in October.