Shared rent and free classes: How a new community center in Five Points gets it done
DENVER — Bruno Tapia Garcia is no stranger to community organizing. He spent a decade working with local grassroots groups, including labor unions, tenant organizing, affordable housing and community land ownership.
He noticed a recurring problem: the lack of affordable meeting spaces.
Enter the Colorado People's Center, a new nonprofit and community resource located in Five Points at the intersection of 21st and Stout. The center opened April 18, and offers affordable rental space for grassroots organizations as well as free clinics, classes and workshops. The center also hosts an art gallery.
As executive director and sole full-time staff member, Garcia leads a team of nearly 70 volunteers who keep the lights on, literally: those 70 volunteers and Tapia Garcia split the monthly rent.
“We put the mission first, we put our values first,” Tapia Garcia said during a tour of the 6,000-square foot building on Stout and 21st streets. “We'll never take funding from a group that is outside of our values, which is why it’s so ideal to just pitch in as a community for the rent.”
Tapia Garcia signed the lease in September, and opened the doors six months later. One of their members is an electrician, Garcia said, who brought in fellow electricians to renovate the space for free alongside the other volunteers. The center houses more than 20 individual spaces, including 200-person rooms and small offices.
The center also features a craft closet full of donated art supplies, a lending library, and a children’s playroom that functions as a free daycare provided by licensed child care providers during Colorado People’s Center events (again, thanks to volunteers).
“The barrier for some people to participate in things is often lack of child care,” Tapia Garcia said, speaking to the child care crisis in Colorado. “We want to make it as accessible as possible for people to come here.”
Garcia and fellow volunteers canvassed the surrounding neighborhood prior to the center’s opening to see which resources were needed the most. The biggest finding was a need for accessible ESL classes. One of the center’s volunteers is a former ESL teacher and is working with Tapia Garcia to roll out that program.
While there are plenty of meeting spaces available to Denverites, most dedicated co-working spaces cost hundreds of dollars a month. Free spaces are closing locally and nationally, directly impacting the communities they serve. At the People’s Center, members can reserve conference rooms for $25 an hour. To become a member, there is a $500 membership fee and members are required to offer at least one free event to the COPC community.
One of those free events is a Wednesday night Zumba class, taught by local dancer Nancy Palacios. A longtime member of the traditional Azteca-Mexica dance group Grupo Tlaloc, Palacios said Zumba is an extension of her culture and allows the accessibility of movement to be available for all.
“Even if you can’t afford a membership at a gym, you should still be able to access that level of community healing and movement,” Palacios said.
She said there’s already regulars at her Wednesday night class, and those folks are bringing their friends as well. Palacios learned about the People’s Center through her friend, a community organizer who she knew from protests and community meetings around town, including the data center protests in her home neighborhood of Elyria-Swansea.
“Things are already bad at home for a lot of members of my community and there’s a ton of stress in the collective,” Palacios said. “The People’s Center gives us a space to come together and heal from the trauma we are undergoing.”
Palacios said “depression can’t hit a moving target,” an idea that motivated her to start her movement journey. She feels like volunteering her time at the center is a perfect way to engage with her hobby while contributing to her community. Another community member, local muralist Leo Tanguma, is sharing his work with the community as well. He’s the oldest Chicano muralist in Denver, having worked for most of his life in political artwork. He painted a new piece at the center.
The mural, spanning more than 20 feet of space on the wall of one of the main classrooms, is referred to as a “mural of resistance.” The mural features depictions of ICE officers, protestors, religious radicalization and more.
“There's two Americas right now,” said Jeanne Tanguma, Leo’s wife, who was also working on the piece. “There’s the current retelling of history, but then there's so much beneath that that hasn't been told that we think is so important to have those stories be made visible.”
The mural is on display until July, with open hours throughout the day and specific viewings upon request. In alignment with the center’s mission to create art and culture accessibility for all, Tapia Garcia hopes to continue featuring artists in the space.
Looking at the future, Tapia Garcia knows that while the center is off to a great start, there will be challenges ahead. The work of being an organizer, according to Tapia Garcia, goes beyond the organizing itself — it’s identifying where the gaps are within the ecosystem.
“If you look at cities like Chicago or New York, these cities that have really long traditions of community organizing, labor organizing, they have robust organizing ecosystems,” Tapia Garcia said. “Denver has a much younger organizing ecosystem, so we’re going to be right here doing the work and adapting as we need to.”
Those who are interested in booking meeting space can do so here, where you can also find out more information about memberships that offer lower booking rates and member-only invites to community events. You can also find information on volunteering your time and talents to the center on their website.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
