by Mark Smiley | Jan 29, 2016 | Travel
56 Units And ‘ZERO PARKING’
by Glen Richardson
The City and County of Denver has become nationally known for approving apartment projects with extremely low parking requirements under the apparent theory that it will force its residents to walk, ride a bike, take public transportation or utilize taxi cabs/Uber vehicles. Families with kids are apparently not deemed likely to want to move to Denver anytime in the immediate future, just young single members of the millennium generation.
Denver is also believed to be the only major city planning department in the United States that as a matter of public policy refuses to consider the impact of increased traffic because of a development. Real estate developers are said to control both the office of the mayor of Denver, Michael Hancock, and the majority of the 13 member Denver City Council which must approve real estate projects according to the City Charter. Most developers want as little required parking as possible since it significantly increases the price of a project. Often the lack of parking becomes a major problem in the future for such projects, but the developer is usually long gone from the scene.
One of the newest projects in one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods, Curtis Park, is slated to have 56 micro-units of 300 square feet each and no parking to the outrage of Curtis Park residents. The on-street parking in the area, according to neighborhood residents, is already extremely tight.
Apparently there is not a plan filed with the Denver City Planning and Development Department for the project. However, there have been numerous meetings between the developer, Gaddis Properties, and Councilman Albus Brooks who, according to insiders, has all but given a green light to the project.
The small property is located at 32nd and Stout Street and the residents indicate that a purported exemption for parking was intended for a small commercial business and not a 56 unit apartment house. City records indicate that the property was once used for an auto service garage. In fact residents also indicate that six more square feet and the exemption would not even apply to a small commercial business.
At a heated and angry meeting between Doug Gaddis and resident Andrew Kowalyshyn, reports are that Gaddis stated the residents were lucky he didn’t build a 70 unit building and that no parking was needed anyway as none of the future tenants or their visiting friends or family would ever use a car, a proposition met with incredulity with the people at the meeting. Summing up the feelings of the neighborhood Kowalyshyn stated of Gaddis, “This guy is just a complete bullshit artist.”
Councilman Albus Brooks told local television stations that neither he nor the city could force Gaddis to provide parking. City insiders indicate that virtually any development in Denver requires some variances and waivers by a city and the city could refuse to grant the same without Mr. Gaddis providing some parking, but is simply unlikely to do so.
Neighborhood activist David Johnson noted, “The fix is in, as always. The Planning Department does not plan and Denver councilmen like Albus Brooks don’t represent the residents. There is no part of the city that the epidemic of overdevelopment corruption is not affecting and destroying our neighborhoods. With Gaddis we are evolving from the ‘limited parking’ stage to the ‘absolutely no parking’ stage. How to change a beautiful city with wonderful neighborhoods to an overcrowded dump.”
by Mark Smiley | Jan 29, 2016 | Main Articles
Thrust From 40-foot High Rocket Ship Expected To Ignite Huge Crowds, Create Carnival Atmosphere But That Doesn’t Thrill Some Residents
by Glen Richardson
A rocket originally built in California and first tested on Nevada’s Black Rock Desert is taking aim at Denver. Target is the Lowry neighborhood, site of the nation’s first Titan Missile Base. Ground zero is Hangar 2 on the corner of East Academy Blvd and Rampart Way.
Holy Moses! Luckily this isn’t a High Velocity Aircraft Rocket — such as those the armed forces nicknamed Holy Moses — but instead is a sculpture identified by the moniker of Raygun Gothic Rocketship. It was built by a group of artists, geeks and inventors in the San Francisco Bay area, not rocket scientists.
Jim Hartman of Boulder-based Hartman Ely Investments — partner with Larimer Associates in Lowry’s Hangar 2 development — is behind the orbital maneuver to land the spacecraft here with expectations of hooking a lucrative payload of sightseers. A circular kiosk is proposed on the corner of E. Academy Blvd and Rampart Way, with the rocket ship sculpture installed on top. Height of the kiosk would be 10 feet, 10 inches and measure 10 feet in diameter. Overall height of the kiosk and rocket ship combined would be about 50 feet. The kiosk and sculpture together would be shorter than the highest point of the hangar building and comparable in height to the tailfin of the airplane at the adjacent Wings Over the Rockies Museum.
Space Disaster?
The rocket ship, according to Hangar 2 Partners, has a realistic cockpit and other “theatrical” features. The cockpit would be accessed on a custom ladder during periodic supervised events. The retail kiosk would serve as the site’s visual launch pad. Sales of ice cream, rocket models, t-shirts and other items would help to repay the cost of acquiring, shipping and installing the rocket ship. “Like the existing B-52 Airplane at Wings, the rocket ship will be an iconic image of space and flight that will not only be a significant public amenity, but will bolster the Wing’s educational programs,” the partners suggest.
Some residents in Lowry, however, say 
the location and environment at Hangar 2 just isn’t right and believe the ship would create a space disaster. “Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to us the sight of this rocket ship has as much appeal as the Blue Monster at DIA,” say Michael and Irina Merson. “By no means do we imply the same karma as befell the creator of the Blue Monster. But it simply does not fit visually and aesthetically with the surroundings that already include four restaurants. It just doesn’t belong here, it belongs somewhere else.” Local homeowner Yvonne Olson adds, “The concept of an outdoor sculpture is a good idea, but only if the size fits with the area.”
Johanna Hermanson labels the piece an “ice cream rocket” and says she is amazed the developers would consider installing it at Hangar 2.” It looks as if it belongs at a carnival. Even more disturbing,” she worries, “is the amount of traffic it will produce.” She isn’t sure input from residents will have much influence on the outcome, “but I hope that Lowry rethinks the repercussions.” Betsy Herrick admits that the rocket ship is fascinating. She cautions, however, “that the proposed location
would be a distraction to drivers at the busy intersection, given its size and surprising look. Add kids climbing on it and the staff supervising them, and the distraction is even greater. Insert buyers at the ice cream shop, and there’s more congestion. All in a small space.” She is also dismayed that the developer looked outside Colorado for artists.
Science Fiction
Intended to invoke the romantic notion of space travel before it became reality, the ornate and futuristic ship is a highly stylized vision of space travel circa 1930s-1940s science fiction, according to the organization behind the piece. Using colloquial language, the Raygun Gothic Rocketship website declares, “It is between yesterday’s tomorrow and the future that never was.” To everyone else, it’s a 40-foot tall metallic silver rocket ship.
Artists claim the piece was once launched off the ground. That claim, however, is doubtful considering the sculpture doesn’t have an engine.
It initially landed at Burning Man 2009, a festival for academics, geeks and suburban parents that gather on the Nevada Desert each year. It was then installed at Pier 14 in San Francisco where it was a huge success and remained on exhibit for more than two years. Subsequently it was displayed at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Most recently it landed at a five-day Arts, Science & Engineering event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It would become a permanent art piece should it land in Lowry.
Flight Gone Awry
Anthony Romeo — a former WWII Na
vy and United Airlines pilot who retired from United after 31 years — tells the Chronicle, “I am concerned about the Dining District property.” He admits that installation of the a
musement park quality rocket ship will not directly affect him since he and his wife live in the west building at Luce Condominiums that is out of the line of sight. Still, he says, “To my way of thinking, it is totally out of character with the existing ambience of that complex.”
A volunteer at the Wings Museum for more than 10 years, he remembers the site as originally being a bleak looking property. “Over the years I have seen the museum property survive a number of ill advised redevelopment proposals. Then, fortunately, Mr. Hartman saved it and created the very desirable complex that we all presently enjoy. Why he would now change course and destroy his well done project puzzles me,” he wraps up.
Resident Marge Mahoney agrees. Also from an aviation family — her husband and son are Captains for American Airlines — she believes Hangar 2 is a bad place for the cold looking rocket ship. “Why not a beautiful tree in that location? It would warm up the area and be much less expensive.” She says she is also appalled Lowry voted for the extensive building now underway at Quebec, First Ave. and Monaco Parkway.
Hovering At Hangar
A rocket flying toward the ground is usu
ally a bad precursor, especially for those living at ground zero. That’s the situation faced by the 66 residents living in the Luce Condominiums, a mid-rise condo development adjacent to Hangar 2. “Depiction of this corner as quiet and spacious is far from accurate. Many times it’s not,” clarifies Luce HOA President David Allen.
He understands that the perception of the aesthetic and historical value of the Raygun Gothic Rocketship will differ. However he contends that the negative impact of drawing children and others to the site is undeniable, especially considering they already border on chaotic in good weather months.
“Opening of the fifth dining district restaurant, increasing participation at the fitness center, and a housing complex just across the street will serve to exacerbate an already safety-challenged, pedestrian-dense location,” he warns. The ice cream/t-shirt retail outlet at the base of the rocket ship with cars parked everywhere plus a line of children and others is a formula for accidents. “All neighbors are asking for is an opportunity to have a voice at an early juncture in the process of selecting a more benign art piece for our corner,” Allen concludes.
Hartman Ponders Response To Luce Condo Owner Concerns
As the February issue of the Chronicle was going to press, David Allen, HOA President at the Luce Condominiums adjacent to Hangar 2, received the following reply from Jim Hartman of Boulder-based Hartman Ely Investments:
“Our team wants Luce to know that we have definitely heard your concerns and are looking at a couple of potential ideas that you might like better. Those ideas will take at least a few weeks to analyze completely but I will be back in touch when we know more.” — Jim Hartman
by Mark Smiley | Jan 29, 2016 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
The lawsuits, both state and federal, filed by M.A.K. Investment Group LLC, owned by Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi, Mozafar Hemmati, Saeed Kholghy and Nasrin Kholghy, against the City of Glendale concerning the five acres of land the corporation owns on East Virginia Avenue appear to be going so poorly that the Iranian family has decided to resort to other methods to pressure the city to buy the corporation’s land for a price the city believes is clearly excessive or be allowed to build on the land in violation of the Glendale zoning laws and Master Plan.
“They appear to be going down and dirty,” declared former Glendale City Councilman R. Wayne King. “They appear to want to find dirt on anything or anyone to bring pressure on the City Council.”
The agent for digging up possible skeletons is Denver resident Jeanne Price who describes herself as a “freelance columnist.” She makes consistent and massive Public Information Requests to the City of Glendale, notwithstanding the fact that the city has provided to M.A.K.’s attorneys over 100,000 copies of city documents. She appears at virtually every City Council meeting sitting by Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi, the registered agent for M.A.K. At many meetings she addresses the City Council accusing them and the city of purported misdeeds and wrongful actions she claims she has discovered.
“It’s strange,” stated Glendale businessman Scott Brock who regularly attends Glendale City Council meetings, “you have a Denver resident with zero connection with Glendale who makes outrageous statements at every council meeting with little or no factual basis. But I guess it’s the way the Kholghys do business. They wonder why so many people in Glendale despise them and do not wish to have any connection with them. I hope Mohammad and the rest of them pay Ms. Price a lot of money to make a fool of herself on a monthly basis. It really is an embarrassment to any town to have someone like that around.”
At the City Council meeting on September 15 of this year she declared:
“Having read four or five years of your [Council] minutes that this Council spends more than half of its time in executive session. And that is a unique situation in my experience.”
At the following City Council meeting Mayor Mike Dunafon reported back to the Council that he had no idea where Ms. Price obtained her information. At the instruction of Mayor Dunafon, the City Clerk tabulated executive session frequency over the last five years. Her report indicated the City Council had not a single “executive session” in 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014. In 2015 the only “executive sessions” held were those required to be provided legal advice from the City Attorney regarding lawsuits filed by her client M.A.K. which cannot be held publicly in order to preserve attorney client privilege.
“The woman is a disgrace,” stated Glendale resident Melissa Jauregui. “She almost never gets her facts right and her claims are wild and unsubstantiated. If she actually found something that the city did wrong she would have gone to the City Attorney, the County Attorney or the U.S. Attorney or to a court. But she doesn’t. She just tries to make herself as unpleasant a human being as possible at every City Council meeting. That is apparently her purpose as the agent for this group.”
Glendale resident Doug Stiff noted, “She is a technique used by Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi and the Kholghys. Make life as miserable as possible until people are so worn down that they are given their demands no matter how terrible it would be for the city. This must have worked for these people before, but they certainly know how to get a whole city to dislike them. They brought in the racist paramilitary group the Oath Keepers who intimidated minorities and others at a City Council meeting. When that didn’t work they flooded the city with lawsuits, and now Ms. Price. I believe no city, and I mean no city in the world, would want Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi and the Kholghys as part of their community.”
Ms. Price was contacted by the Chronicle regarding an accusation that she had followed Councilmember Jeff Allen after a public meeting, and was asked who was paying for her time and why she, as a Denver resident, speaks at Glendale City Council meetings. She responded, “This is ridiculous, I don’t think I have anything to say to you. It’s absurd.” She then hung up the phone. Calls to Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi have not been returned.
