Every year, participants work together on civic impact projects aligned with the Downtown Denver Partnership’s priorities. These group projects offer a hands-on opportunity to put leadership into action: applying new skills, testing ideas and navigating real-world city-building alongside peers and local leaders. The process is designed to challenge participants, strengthen their ability to work across sectors and build the confidence to help shape the future of our city.

 

Our 2027 class project will explore a question at the heart of downtown’s future: How can we reimagine Downtown Denver as a neighborhood where people choose to connect, explore and spend time, from the workday to the weekend?

 

Downtown Denver is in the midst of a reinvention. As the way we work, live and gather continues to change, a thriving downtown is measured not only by our office market, but also by how vibrant and active our streets feel.¹ The 2025 Downtown Area Plan calls for bringing new energy to our storefronts, streets and public spaces so that downtown becomes a place people choose to spend time, not just pass through. When people stumble onto something unexpected on their way to work, encounter a lively storefront or stop to take in a piece of public art, they build a real connection to the place, and they come back. These moments do more than make downtown enjoyable. They create reasons to come downtown, enhance perception, support local businesses and support the energy and activity that make a neighborhood thrive.

 

Through collaborative sessions with community leaders and hands-on project development, participants in the 2027 Leadership Program will explore how culture, leisure, play and vibrant public spaces can change the way people see and experience our city center. Working in small groups, you’ll design and implement tangible projects aligned with the 2025 Downtown Area Plan and explore new ways to bring energy to downtown and invite people to stay a little longer. These aren’t theoretical exercises. They are opportunities to bring creative ideas to life and help shape a downtown that feels welcoming, surprising and fun for everyone who works, lives and visits here.