Construction Contract Announced for Levitt Pavilion
September 1, 2015—Following an eight-month review process, studiotrope Design Collective has been selected as the architectural firm to build Levitt Pavilion Denver, a new, state-of-the art outdoor music venue in Ruby Hill Park that will bring Denverites of all ages and backgrounds together through 50 free concerts every summer beginning in 2017.
Denver was selected by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a private family foundation based in Los Angeles, as the seventh city to join the national Levitt network of outdoor music venues. Influencing factors included the City of Denver’s bold vision for revitalizing Ruby Hill Park, an expansive yet underused public park located in the southwest area of the city, just minutes from downtown. The park’s accessible location to a range of diverse socio-economic groups aligns with Levitt’s mission to bring people together of all ages and background through the power of free, live music. In addition, the City had previously developed a Master Plan for Ruby Hill Park that called for the creation of an outdoor music venue, reflecting its long-term planning efforts to integrate arts and culture into its green spaces.
The Levitt project gained the support of community leaders and local residents, spurred by the Levitt Foundation’s commitment to provide $400K in seed funding for the capital campaign as well as ongoing annual operating support and resources for Friends of Levitt Pavilion Denver, the nonprofit charged with managing and programming the 50 free concerts every year. Recognizing the project’s potential to create positive social and economic impact in this area of Denver, the City committed $2 million from the Better Denver Bond Program for the construction of Levitt Pavilion Denver, an investment that will make high quality live music accessible to tens of thousands of Denverites each summer.
The design selection committee included representatives from Denver Public Works; Denver Parks and Recreation; and Denver City Council District 7. As Levitt Denver is a public/private partnership, Chris Zacher, executive director and ceo of Friends of Levitt Pavilion Denver; and Troy Gladwell, founder and principal of Medici Communities, a local real estate developer, also served on the committee.
“Denver takes great pride in having one of the best urban park systems in America, and partnering with the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation in creating Denver’s next great concert venue is one of the best investments we can make,” said Scott Gilmore, Interim Executive Director of Denver Parks and Recreation.
“studiotrope Design Collective is an artistic, cutting edge, out of the box architectural firm who we’re extremely excited to work with on Levitt Pavilion Denver,” said Zacher. “We are confident that studiotrope will create a beautiful, innovative and eye-catching design that will elevate the performing arts in the city for years to come.”
“We’re honored to have been selected for this project,” said Joseph Montalbano, principal architect of studiotrope, a Denver-based firm. “We’ve been inspired by Levitt’s mission ever since learning about it several years ago and hope to translate this inspiration into a place of enrichment unlike anything Denver currently has to offer. The site beckons a poetic architectural response, one that is as distinctive and diverse as the numerous artists who will perform on its stage.”
The official opening of Levitt Pavilion Denver will occur during the summer of 2017, when 50+ free concerts featuring acclaimed, emerging artists to seasoned, award-winning talent in a wide range of music genres will bring joy to over 100,000 people each summer, becoming a citywide destination for the community to come together. Performers will represent a range of local, national and international talent. In addition to the anchor programming of 50 free concerts, nonprofit groups across the metro area will use the state-of-the-art outdoor venue to bring additional programming to the community each year. To whet the community’s appetite for the 2017 opening, Zacher and his team will present a preview season of five free Levitt concerts during the summer of 2016 while the pavilion is under construction, at a location to be determined.
“We appreciate the dedication of the committee in selecting a design firm that will capture the energy of the Levitt mission, creating an environment where all feel welcome,” said Liz Levitt Hirsch, president of the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation.
Added Montalbano, “At this location, under the large Colorado sky, as part of a larger master plan, Levitt Denver can become more than performances on a stage. It has the potential to invigorate, stimulate, and strengthen a community, both locally and regionally. We are honored to be a part of such an endeavor.”
Learn more about Levitt Pavilion Denver at http://levittdenver.org and the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation at http://levitt.org
Category: Local News
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