by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2024 | Glendale City News
by Mark Smiley
Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon (left), and Central Street Capital President Isiah Salazar proudly display the shovel that officially broke ground on the Four Mile District. Photo courtesy of Iris Miceli Photography
On July 25, 2024, Glendale officials and Central Street Capital break ground on Glendale’s new Four Mile District. Photo courtesy of Iris Miceli Photography
The much-anticipated groundbreaking ceremony for the Four Mile District was held on July 25, 2024, for a 10-acre entertainment district in Glendale. With a few stops and starts and obstacles over the last decade, forward progress is happening, and the $150 million project is underway.
In 2020, it appeared that Lincoln Property Company, a Dallas based international real estate firm, would develop the district and plans seemed to be moving forward on what was then known as Glendale 180.
The project is now being developed by Central Street Capital, a family office founded by health care entrepreneur Rob Salazar. Central Street Capital has been investing in projects for 25 years including the Assembly Student Living on the Auraria Campus.
The Four Mile District is a nod to the Four Mile Historic Park, which is home to one of Colorado’s oldest standing structures, the Four Mile House Museum. The development site is along Glendale’s popular Virginia Avenue which many know it as home to the nation’s busiest Target and the popular gentleman’s club, Shotgun Willie’s.
In order to make room for the 10-acre entertainment district, the wastewater treatment facility, was decommissioned and demolished in 2006. The land and office building formerly occupied by Gamma Construction was purchased by the City of Glendale and also demolished.
One confirmed tenant, Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theatre, will have nine screens and consume approximately 40,000 square feet. A groundbreaking is scheduled for next year with an anticipated grand opening
of late 2026 or early 2027.
The rest of the space will be occupied by retail, restaurants, parking garages, and outdoor plazas. There are also plans for a hotel but it is unclear how that will co-exist with Staybridge Suites which is already next to the yet to be built district.
This district will be classified as a common consumption area, allowing visitors to walk around with alcoholic beverages, and bars to serve until 4 a.m. The City of Glendale owns the land where the entertainment district will be built. However, a 2021 development agreement that Central Street and the city reached allows Central Street to purchase it for $1 when a certain amount of progress is completed.
Mayor Mike Dunafon called Glendale “the Vatica
n of liberty and Luxemburg of freedom,” and said Glendale “had the No. 1 entertainment district in Colorado before LoDo” while addressing the attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony. Dunafon indicated it was undone by state regulation, but Four Mile District will hopefully return Glendale to the entertainment hub it once was.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the city was home to a variety of now well-known establishments that attracted visitors from across metro Denver. Colorado Mine Company (home of the “Fool’s Gold” which was Elvis’ favorite sandwich), Cork ’N Cleaver, Celebrity Sports Center (owned by Disney), Cooper Theater, The Riviera (The Riv), Soda Straw, Sportspage, The Lift, and Tommy Wong’s Island are long gone but fondly remembered. Additionally, Andy’s Smorgasbord became Shotgun Willie’s Country Western Bar which is now Shotgun Willie’s Show Club and, almost five decades later, Bull & Bush Brewery is still a favorite.
The start of the construction will be the not so glamourous improvements to 7-acres of the property. It will include the creation of a private road, and stormwater and power infrastructure. The parking garage will be the next item to construct and work on that will begin November 2024.
With a fence surrounding the former Creekside Park and markers placed all over the property, it appears the project is moving full steam ahead. More updates in this publication will be forthcoming.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2024 | General Featured
by Mark Smiley
Megan McNeil, who reported for the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle before moving to Arizona, has written her first book.
The beautifully written and illustrated “The Silver Lining” is available at Amazon.
Megan McNeil is a former reporter for this publication and since leaving the newspaper, moved to Tucson, Arizona, and became a television reporter for Channel 13 News in Tucson. She left the station in 2022 to pursue her dream of writing books. McNeil graduated with a BA in Electronic Media and a Political Science minor from San Marcos Texas State and shortly thereafter, began her career with the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. She has fond memories of the start to her career at this publication.
McNeil joined the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle staff in October 2015 and wrote articles until her 2017 departure including a piece on Tiny Houses in Denver which in 2015, were just starting to become prevalent. “I used to write these horrible stories as a child, but I that’s where my passion for writing started,” said McNeil. “In college it developed into journalistic writing as I became more aware of the world around me.”
McNeil has now written a children’s book for ages 5-10 which came out in May 2024. This 34-page paperback book is beautifully illustrated by Venus Angelica and tells the story about a little cloud with a big decision to make. Which cloud will it be? The cloud sets out on a fun-filled journey across the skies, meeting cloudy characters along the way. Get to know what makes each cloud unique and how to spot them in the sky. Will the little cloud find out what it is meant to be? And what lesson will it learn along the way?
In this “whatever you are be a good one” story, colorful illustrations, and a heartwarming tale make learning fun. This scientific children’s book about clouds is great for kids 5-10 and guided reading for younger children. A pronunciation guide helps young readers with cloud names.
The Silver Lining retails for $12 on Amazon and can be purchased at https://a.co/d/07xuWjIT.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2024 | Travel
by Mark Smiley
With specialty coffee drinks approaching $6 without tip, many consumers are turning to brewing their own at home. There are a plethora of options depending on your budget. If you want one of the best on the market that money can buy, consider the Terra Kaffe TK-02.
The retail price comes in at $1,595 so it isn’t for everyone. But, the savings add up if you brew your own lattes and cappuccinos at home. In fact, the app you can download that syncs with the machine provides a running total of the money saved by brewing at home.
The TK-02 is easy to set up out of the box and takes less than 15 minutes to assemble and prepare for brewing. When asleep, in our tests, it took less than 3 minutes for the machine to wake up from the previous day’s brews. In fact, the app can wake the machine so you can tap “wake” from bed and let it warm up. Also, the TK-02 can brew your favorite drink the same time every day with its programmable settings. It also allows for you to name the drinks with what seems to be an infinite amount of options.
How does the regular drip coffee taste? With the ability to add coffee beans to the hopper, the drip coffee is one of the best ever tested on a home machine. You are getting an authentic coffee house experience as the machine grinds the beans with every cup. Also, you can add ground coffee to a separate hopper. Just don’t forget to press the “pre-ground” option on the display.
The TK-02 includes a 30-day/150-brew trial and a 2-year/5,000-brew warranty. It also includes a simple to use milk carafe for lattes. You add the milk and then connect the hose to the machine and the TK-02 produces a latte in less than one minute. We recommend playing with the temperature settings because the default setting likely won’t be hot enough for the average latte fan.
The TK-02 also does a good job of brewing iced coffee which is a new feature on this model. Set your cup of ice under the chute and the drip coffee will brew directly into the cup, eliminating the need for a 24-hour cold brew in the refrigerator.
Speaking of the chute, make sure you lower it to the cup/mug before brewing as it can get messy without lowering. The TK-02 also intuitively knows when it is time to add water to the carafe (which includes a filter), empty the water tray, and empty the ground coffee bin. It is one of the simplest to use yet best tasting coffees from home you can find.
For more information on the Terra Kafe TK-02, visit www.terrakaffe.com/products/tk-02.
