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Breaking Down Barriers at Dahlem Place in Bakery Square
Most developers lose sight of why their developing and whom they're developing for. Not Walnut Capital and its co-founders Gregg Perelman and Todd Reidbord.
Most developments lose sight of what and whom they’re developing for. Not Walnut Capital and its co-founders Gregg Perelman and Todd Reidbord. For them, the people and communities are the reason for development. And this significant milestone of breaking down barriers at Dahlem Place in Bakery Square proves that once again.
The train tracks separating the communities of Larimer and Homewood were not only just a symbolic separator, they were a physical barrier too. This latest project will physically connect Dahlem Place in Bakery Square to McPherson Boulevard and Fifth Avenue making transit between the communities significantly easier. This undertaking will take an abandoned 1.5 mile long railroad and will transform it into a tree-and-garden-lined road that is inviting to cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles. The street will be designed to be traffic-calming and will also reduce traffic congestion along Penn Avenue, helping to combat climate change.
The features of this new road way will feature an 8-foot-wide protected two way bicycle lane, a 6-foot-wide pedestrian sidewalk, a rain garden for sustainable on-site stormwater management, and a landscape meadow and planting buffer along the full length to create a green zone.
Executive director of the Larimer Consensus Group, Donna Jackson, said “It is a city for all. We must be for the city. In order for all of us to be for the city, we need these connection places, right? We need these places to celebrate all of us where we can get to.”
Mayor Ed Gainey was there for this groundbreaking, praising Walnut Capital for their dedication to improving the area he once represented. “You didn’t talk about it, you actually did it, everything that we discussed in regards to really working to improve this area, you’ve always kept your word.”
This historic project will be rolled out in two phases. Phase one is a five month long project that cost $2.5 million dollars and is fully funded. The second phase is yet to be funded but with the overwhelming community support they are confident they will secure the funding. “Residents of the Larimer community, where most of Bakery Square sits, have told us loud and clear that it’s about time to connect one side of the tracks with the other,” said co-founder Greg Perelman. “Indeed, all residents deserve the dignity to be connected.”
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