How the community we know and love started.
The Montbello community was established in the mid-1960s and is located in the far northeast section of Denver, Colorado.
Montbello 2020 was organized in March 2008. The vision was to bring together a diverse representation of the community with similar interests and perspectives. The primary goal was to work on how to improve and enhance our community. The first meeting of Montbello 2020 was held on March 19, 2008 at Montbello Recreation Center.
The early part of the new century saw the Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch communities explode with a housing boom that attracted many families from the Montbello community. As families moved into the surrounding communities, the demographics of Montbello dramatically increased to a majority of residents who were immigrants. Over 65 percent of new births in Montbello are born to Latino families.
Today, Montbello is at a crossroads. There are many indicators that point to the decline and neglect of the community. At the same time, it is a community with tremendous assets in both attractive housing stock and the close proximity to the downtown business district and Denver International Airport. The community must look internally to foster a more optimistic and progressive civic, social, cultural and economic future.
In 1991, the City of Denver facilitated a community plan stakeholder process that resulted in the Montbello plan. That plan called for guidelines and values around the continued development of the Montbello community. Many current residents of Montbello are not aware of the existence of this plan.
The potential of the Montbello community and its residents is great. In order to cultivate a grass-roots ownership to turn the community around, Councilman Michael B. Hancock announced a partnership with the Foundation for the Next Frontier to initiate a comprehensive strategic planning process for the Montbello community in February 2007. He made a plea for extensive community leadership of the process.
The Foundation for the Next Frontier, in partnership with Councilman Hancock, representing the Montbello community, issued a request for proposal seeking project management and professional facilitation services to direct the strategic planning process. In the summer of 2007, the National Civic League was awarded the contract to design, manage, and facilitate the process, which was named Montbello 20/20.
The National Civic League (NCL), founded in 1894, is America’s original advocate for community democracy. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. NCL fosters innovative community building and political reform, assists local governments, and recognizes collaborative community achievement. NCL accomplishes its mission through technical assistance, training, publishing, research, and the All-America City Awards, America’s original and most prestigious community recognition program.
Montbello is an emerging and newly-defined community with steady residential and commercial development in Stapleton to the west and Parkfield, Green Valley Ranch and DIA communities to the east. Montbello is the hub of the northeast Denver corridor and as a community must redefine itself and work together to implement the Montbello 20/20 plan for reaching its desired vision. In 2018, Montbello 2020 became a 501 (c)(3).