DENVER — The board of the Regional Transportation District unanimously approved providing land in downtown Denver to the National Medal of Honor Museum.
Leaders of the future museum are deciding whether it should be built in Denver or Arlington, Texas.
On Tuesday night, the RTD board voted 14-0 in favor of subleasing a small parcel of land at the corner of East Colfax Avenue and Lincoln Street next to RTD’s main bus station downtown.
#Breaking: After pressure form the governor, Denver’s mayor and military veterans … @RideRTD board votes to provided leased land at Colfax and Lincoln for use of potential National Medal of Honor Museum campus. pic.twitter.com/r6jQxXKrzv
— Michael Konopasek (@MikeKonopasek) September 25, 2019
Last week, the board voted against providing the land in a 7-7 vote. Since then, Gov. Jared Polis, Mayor Michael Hancock and veterans have put increased pressure on the board to reconsider.
“Over the last week, the Board reviewed additional information about potential economic benefits the museum could bring to the region. The Board also sought more information on whether other viable uses have been proposed for the property,” RTD said in a press release issued Tuesday evening.
According to RTD, if the museum is built in Denver, the lot will be transformed into a tree-lined pathway to lead people from downtown to the museum’s entrance across from the state Capitol.
RTD says the city and county of Denver has proposed paying the agency the same $123,000 a year it currently pays to lease the property.
Once completed, the museum would honor about 3,000 recipients of the Medal of Honor from around the country.