Denver Ballpark District Recruits Chicago District Alum

Downtown Denver’s new Ballpark General Improvement District is officially under the oversight of a new director with some experience in Chicago’s own ballpark district.

Kate McKenna, the first executive director of the Ballpark Denver General Improvement District, began her job on Wednesday, the Denver Business Journal reported. McKenna, who lives in the Ballpark District, has led special districts around the country, including the Wrigleyville Business Improvement District in Chicago surrounding the Cubs’ Wrigley Field home.

McKenna was selected for the job from more than 360 people in a nationwide search.

“Kate’s experience, resourcefulness and vision for urban neighborhoods was impressive,” Marti Page, board chair of the Ballpark General Improvement District, said in a statement, per the Business Journal. “The fact that she is already a Ballpark resident positions her to hit the ground running.”

While acting as the director of community development for the Wrigleyville BID, McKenna worked with organizations including the Chicago Cubs to represent community interests in infrastructure projects and large commercial developments.

During her time in the Windy City, McKenna also helped create the Chicago Gallery District and its accompanying mural program in West Town. She was an interim executive director and director of programs and partnerships for the district.

Since moving to Denver, McKenna has spearheaded fundraising and development efforts for the Denver Walls mural festival and other community endeavors.

The Ballpark Denver GID was formed last November by local property owners and is designated in a rectangular area bound by 20th Street to the southwest, Park Avenue to the northeast, Welton Street to the southeast, and the railroad tracks behind Coors Field to the northwest.

It was created to provide safety and security, homeless outreach and engagement services, cleaning and maintenance, beautification and public investment projects and to establish a unique identity for the neighborhood. Among McKenna’s duties is overseeing the Ballpark Ambassador program launched in March and coordinating with city departments and other agencies and organizations to deliver services to area residents.

A separate district group, the Ballpark Collective Registered Neighborhood Organization, will remain in operation working together at times to better serve the Ballpark neighborhood.

— Chris Malone Méndez