Before the industrial age, before railyards and steam plants and I-25 melded a concrete jungle around a polluted river, the South Platte was the genesis of Denver .

The riverbanks were mined for gold. The river itself was used for irrigation for farmlands. For over a century, a cycle of neglect and refurbishment has flowed through the currents. Members of the Denver City Council formed the South Platte River Committee last year , dedicated to properly review all legislation impacting a long stretch of property lining the rushing heart of the city.

The council took action, as Councilwoman Jamie Torres said, because they knew what was coming. The future of development, in Denver, lies in the ripe hundreds of acres along this snaking corridor.

“It can be revitalized,” Torres told The

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