A modern community center building photographed at twilight, featuring large windows illuminated from within. The exterior includes clean architectural lines, metal siding, and a covered entryway with decorative beams. A row of bike racks and landscaped greenery lines the sidewalk.
Northeast Park Hill

Holly Square

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Nonprofit Space
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Community Land Trust Property

Holly Square is a thriving neighborhood hub designed for – and by – the Northeast Park Hill community.

Once the site of a popular shopping center that was destroyed by arson in 2008, Holly Square is now home to the Boys & Girls Club, the Center for African American Health, and an outdoor gathering space with solar-powered evening lighting.

  • Community-Driven

    Community-Driven

    Holly Square was rebuilt with input and leadership from the Northeast Park Hill community.

  • Affordable Nonprofit Space

    Affordable Nonprofit Space

    ULC’s 99-year land lease keeps costs low, enabling nonprofits to focus on their mission.

  • Vibrant Neighborhood Hub

    Vibrant Neighborhood Hub

    Home to the Boys & Girls Club, Center for African American Health, and outdoor gathering spaces.

  • A spacious recreation room featuring wooden beams, exposed ductwork, and large windows. Several pool tables and a ping pong table are scattered throughout the room. Children are actively playing games while others are socializing. The space is bright and modern.
Why it Matters

A Haven for Growth, Healing, and Opportunity

In the historically Black neighborhood of Northeast Park Hill, Holly Square is a safe place to learn, grow, gather, heal and succeed – with activities and health care services for youth and the entire community. ULC’s 99-year land lease ensures that the nonprofits pay less in real estate costs, so they can devote more to their important work. ULC’s community land trust ensures that this place will always be used for community benefit and never sold to the highest bidder.

Explore Holly Square

  • A diverse group of children and adults gathered around a man in a white shirt holding a candle at a community event.
Backstory

A Northeast Park Hill Neighborhood Hub

The Holly Square Shopping Center was for years a vibrant community hub, but was destroyed by arson in 2008. The following year, ULC, in partnership with Denver’s Office of Economic Development, acquired the 2.6-acre site to redevelop it for community use. For ULC, it was essential to ensure that the Black community would lead the reimagining of the site to ensure it fulfilled the neighborhood’s needs and vision. ULC, The Denver Foundation’s Strengthening Neighborhoods Program, the Hope Center and others formed the Holly Area Redevelopment Project (HARP). HARP gathered input from local residents and hired a local, Black-owned planning group, Community by Design. The community-led process helped heal the loss of an important neighborhood landmark and resulted in the thriving Holly Square redevelopment.

Yellow, orange, red, and white exterior of a modern building

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