Controversial: Short-term rentals in Denver are becoming more popular but not with everyone. Antagonists have claimed safety concerns but also lost revenue when only renting for a few days. Many homeowners skirt the rules by renting out a property that is not their primary residence.
The methodology dedicated to handling
Denver’s short-term rental (STR) industry is fairly new, as the governing
structures used today are from a 2016 city ordinance. Ongoing efforts to find a
perfect solution in an imperfect situation — one that makes everyone happy —
have been difficult to find. Denver is faced with rapid growth, and this
expansion has fallen upon current and future residents to placate.
Almost anyone who has heard of STRs has an
opinion about them due to a personal experience of some kind. Yet, multiple
people in the Mile-High City have declined to tell their story, and most who
elected to share spoke in hushed, prudent tones with lowered eyes. They shot
frequent glances around and recounted their anecdotes incompletely.
“I was told not to [speak on the record],”
said Rebecca after a pause. “I was told that there could be retaliation. I
don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know, I just think this is much bigger than
it appears.”
Rebecca declined to provide her last name.
She chose not to elaborate on her remarks, define what she believed retaliation
would entail or from whom it could come. A large portion of those who spoke to
the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle would not divulge any information at all
but acknowledged they were affected in some way.
Denver’s STR conversation has many sides.
The business side has provided crucial financial benefits for some. Others have
lost faith in their neighborhood’s economic value. But a report released in
April by the Denver’s Economic Development and Opportunity Department exhibited
that STRs have not had a significant impact on the cost of housing. According
to the report, only one percent of Denver’s housing supply is an STR, and revealed
weak correlation to local rent increases.
Still, like Rebecca, some are more
concerned with how STRs affect daily life in their community.
Sophi told the Chronicle that people have
mistakenly tried to enter her home in the middle of the night on multiple
occasions, as recently as this month. Intruders on her property were supposed
to be at the STR next door where they were staying.
Popular Site: Airbnb was founded in 2008 and is an online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. It is one of the most popular ways for short-term rentals to be listed and discovered.
“The dogs woke up and were barking and
trying to figure out what was happening — I thought somebody was breaking in,”
said Sophi. “I am often alone in the house. It’s not a great feeling to be next
to a really drunk [group of] guys or to have people trying our door. I think
once you get that many people together who are not all with it, that’s a safety
issue.”
Others have expressed similar safety
concerns but declined quotation.
Rebecca and Sophi share a home in Denver’s
Washington Park neighborhood next to a “mega-mansion” of roughly 2,000 square
feet. According to Sophi, the property has often hosted bachelor parties where the
guests’ goal is to “drink as much as they can and smoke as much as they can.”
As an STR property manager, David Pardo’s
“bread and butter” are “big and noisy parties.” Pardo, who has been an STR host
for over five years, has managed a combination of properties ranging from
one-bedroom apartments to larger townhouses. In an interview with the
Chronicle, he said that over 1,600 groups of guests have utilized his
properties. Some of these sites have specifically catered to events such as
bachelor and bachelorette parties, and Pardo estimated that he has hosted over
100 of these gatherings. These homes are located in areas of commercial use
where local zoning laws do not prohibit the operation of business, and
downtown, where noise is already generated from local bars and nightlife.
According to Pardo, the vast majority of
his guests have not broken any rules established by both the hosting platform
and himself. Most of the harm Pardo has experienced caused him personal
logistics problems but hasn’t affected close-by residents in any fashion.
“All the neighbors of my properties know
exactly what’s going on. They have all the contact info,” said Pardo. “We’ve
got all the noise awareness systems, sensors, cameras — we know what’s going on
because we don’t want our guests to have a [negative] impact. We build that
into our system. That’s not a requirement that the city has. That’s a
requirement that I have for myself. It’s personal practice for the sake of my
business.”
Not all STRs are in stride with legality. Denver’s
2016 rules state that an STR can only be operated from a primary residence. In
June a couple was charged with felonies for running an STR outside of their
primary residence.
Denver’s Office of Excise and Licenses
spokesman Eric Escudero said in a recent email correspondence with the
Chronicle that Denver is not anti-STR and explained how the city has
investigated potentially illegal STRs.
“After collecting evidence that shows
people are operating an STR that is not their primary residence, Denver frequently
sends out an affidavit to suspected illegal STR operators giving them one last
opportunity to come clean,” according to Escudero. “If they lie on the
affidavit attesting their STR is their primary residence, they could be charged
with the crime of influencing a public servant.”
To mediate the STR conversation and push
the industry in Denver toward more effective operation, Denver’s Short-Term
Rental Advisory Committee (STRAC) has orchestrated the rollout of a dual-phased
plan. The first section is focused on updating current language and defining
terms such as “primary residence” in a clearer fashion as 2019 concludes.
The Committee’s mission is to “provide
guidance and recommendations to Excise and Licenses policies pertaining to the
STR licensing program.” They have hosted meetings that encouraged public
comment, and members of the Committee include STR hosts, industry stakeholders,
residents of the neighborhood and elected city officials.
Hosts of STRs must also obtain licensure to
operate lawfully. Denver currently has a 78.3 percent compliance rate, one of
the highest in the nation according to the most recent data from the Office of
Excise and Licenses. In the same data set is the compliance rate of other major
cities: Nashville, 59 percent; New Orleans, 58 percent; San Francisco, 42
percent; Austin, 18 percent.
And while complaints about STRs are the
most common to the Office of Excise and Licenses, this data has shown that
Denver has displayed positive trends. STRAC provided data at their October
meeting as well; complaints about STRs to the 311-information hotline have gone
down from 92 in 2018, to 72 as of October 2019.
Phase two of STRAC’s plan is set to roll
out as 2020 hits its second quarter. Their proposed plans included finding the
best practices and legal parameters for property management requirements, as
well as working with other cities to draft effective new language centered
around platform accountability.
Industries that have thrived due to STRs
have taken a hit. Joyful Soul Cleaning’s owner Kayla Darling has operated her
business within STRs. She has been able to create jobs for many others in part
due to rental properties and joined the conversation with the hopes of changing
peoples’ hearts and minds but told the Chronicle that she has lost business due
to the decrease in rental properties.
“It’s definitely important to me that our voices are heard, so that we can say, hey we want to work with the city, we want to work with the communities to make [the STR business] a positive experience for everyone that we can,” said Darling. “But then also, we don’t want half of to go away.”
According to the Office of Excise and
Licenses, the number of unique property listings has dropped 21 percent since
last October, and 158 applications for licensure withdrawn since April.
Additionally, the total number of active licenses has gone up 24 percent. This
provides evidence that more residents have looked to follow compliance rules,
but less have listed their homes as an STR.
One thing is clear: the growing pains of
Denver’s STR industry can only be cured with efforts from all sides.
“Please, in all of this just consider that
there’s a very large portion of [STR] hosts that want to help,” said Joe (who
declined to give his last name). “I’m trying to assume some of the
responsibilities, and some of it is — we simply don’t even know [about
complaints]. I’ll tell you this. There’s change coming from the host community.
We’re taking more responsibility, we’re stepping up.”
Coworking Expands, Corporate HQs Replacing District Shops, Claim It’s Now Second Oldest Commercial Block
by Glen Richardson
Chewing Up Street: The Tavern space on Gaylord has been vacant for more than a year and is likely to be gobbled up by developers adding offices in lieu of restaurants.
This holiday season will be the last for
one of Denver’s oldest gift shops as the 45-year old Tender Thicket along Old
South Gaylord has lost its lease to a developer. It’s the conclusive indicator
that this is the end of an era for Denver’s second oldest historic district.
The Thicket’s home on Gaylord St. is close to 100 years old. — it’s historic —
but the neighborhood decided not to designate it that way and that applies to
all the stores along Gaylord.
Larimer Square is Denver’s only locally
protected historic district, designated in 1971 after a determined Dana Crawford
saved the block. Its historic designation was the first in Denver that
recognized not only individual historic buildings but a collection of buildings
and their setting.
The quaint Gaylord block in the heart of
Wash Park — between Mississippi and Tennessee Ave. — was, until the last couple
of years, home to unique shops but is shifting into a commercial block similar
to how Cherry Creek North is changing. Until recently area realtors could claim
Old South Gaylord was the embodiment of what a neighborhood should look like, a
historic district of inviting boutiques, art galleries and great restaurants.
Distressing Demolition
Coworking Expands: Grant Real Estate Co. purchased the building that housed the Thicket and the adjacent Edward Jones offices on the left and plans to bulldoze the building and add a second coworking space.
The Tender Thicket survived three moves,
four owners, a flood, economic ups and downs, but redevelopment will be its
final move. Grant Real Estate Co. owner Aaron Grant purchased the 5,500-sq.-ft.
building that houses the Thicket and adjacent Edward Jones building (now
vacant) for $2 million. At the same time in 2017 Grant purchased the building
at 1040 S. Gaylord for $2.9 million and converted it into Park Coworking that
is now open with 24 stations and 16 dedicated desks. He now plans to bulldoze
the other two buildings and add a second coworking space. “It hurts my heart
that this cute neighborhood will no longer be part of the Old South Gaylord
community,” Tender Thicket owner Maury Ankrum tells the Chronicle.
The Thicket building was once a pharmacy
and, in fact, they resurrected the pharmacy counter as their checkout counter
and still have the first medicine cabinet in the back. “It was important to me
to keep a bit of its history intact,” she says.
Ankeum is now looking for a new location,
but hasn’t yet found the perfect fit. I am profoundly grateful and humbled for
the years of love and support this neighborhood has given us,” she adds. “We
will miss it dearly. I hope my customers will stop by to say goodbye and snag
some fantastic deals as they check off their holiday list.”
History Lost
Heritage History: The 45-year old Tender Thicket along Old South Gaylord has lost its lease to developers. The Thicket’s home on Gaylord St. is close to 100 years old — it’s historic — but the neighborhood decided not to designate it that way.
While the Tender Thicket building is
believed to be Gaylord’s oldest, the block is dramatically changing as several
developers are buying up the land to add office space in lieu of retail and
restaurants. The Thicket is just one of many stores that have left or are
leaving.
On the west side of the street, Gaylord has
lost Denver’s No. 2 ranked art gallery Arts at Denver, a tailor, two hair
salons and a bike shop. In addition to the Thicket, the east side of the street
has lost or is losing The Tavern, Washington Bark, Sole Sisters (a shoe store),
Little Angels (a pet boutique) and Edward Jones.
The prime corporate takeover of historic
assets taking place on the west side of Gaylord is the corporate purchase of
the former bike shop (Singletrack Factory) near the corner of Gaylord and
Tennessee by LotusGroup Advisors.
Corporate Takeover
Corporate Coup: Two walls are up on LotusGroup Advisors build-out of this two-story corporate office on Gaylord. Among reasons the financial firm chose the district is because of improved parking over its Cherry Creek location.
The Cherry Creek-based financial firm’s
Managing Partner Raphael Martorello paid $1.4 million for the property, has
bulldozed the building and is spending at least another $1.8 million to build
out a 7,200-sq.-ft. two-story corporate office in the heart of the historic
Wash Park neighborhood.
Designed by Neo Era Architecture and being
built by 303 Construction, the firm had projected completion in the second
quarter of this year. In mid-Oct. as this article was written only two of the
four walls of the corporate space are up.
When announcing the project along what he
called a quaint and nice street, Martorello said he chose the site because we
wanted to achieve a “commercial building that feels like a home.” At the time
he declared the new corporate HQ would have “an open floor plan, energy
efficient construction, many spaces for collaboration, and improved parking
over Cherry Creek.”
Gaylord’s History
High Drama: The building that now houses the Charcoal Bistro and a fitness studio opened as the D & R Theater in 1925.
The 1920s were the golden age of movie
theaters, and, in 1925 Gaylord opened its own motion picture palace. The Washington
Park D & R Theater (now home to Charcoal Bistro) at 1028 South Gaylord St.
was built by Carl Adler, who also operated the South Gaylord Home Bakery. On
opening night of the theater in August 1925, two Shetland ponies were given
away as a promotional event. The Washington Park R & D viewed itself as
symbolizing “a new ideal in entertainment,” a community theater which was
up-to-date in every detail.
A business district was flourishing along
South Gaylord by the early 1920s. Chrysler & Son was the first to establish
a business in the area, erecting a brick store at 1075-1083 South Gaylord St.,
in 1915. Historians say that the shopping area “was mostly a product of the
1920s when streetcar #5 terminated there and attracted shoppers on their way to
and from work.” The 1000 block of South Gaylord was zoned Business-Retail when
the city was first zoned in 1925. By 1930 the block featured three clothes
cleaners, two beauty parlors, two barbers, two plumbers, a sheet metal worker
and a shoe repair shop.
As Denver basks in a period of massive
growth combined with the commercial potential of historic districts, the
historic designation of buildings and homes is likely to have little impact on
the ground. Developers from Denver and elsewhere will continue to receive
over-the-counter demolition permits and raze buildings and homes to destroy
history for profit.
Great American Beer Festival (GABF) celebrated its 33rd year the weekend of October 5, 2019. The Colorado Convention Center once again served as the venue sprawling 584,000 square feet of space for over 800 breweries to pour over 4,000 different types of beers.
Comrade Brewing, located at 7667 E. Iliff Ave. in Denver, was named 2019 Small Brewing Company of the Year and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year by the Brewers Association at the awards ceremony held on Saturday, October 5, after receiving gold medals for two of its India Pale Ales, Superpower IPA and More Dodge Less Ram. These are the fourth and fifth medals the brewery has won since opening in 2014.
“We still can’t believe what happened at
the Great American Beer Festival,” said David Lin, Founder of Comrade Brewing
Co. “We always try to make the best beer we can and this year the judges
thought so too. We’re incredibly proud of the brewing team Marks Lanham and Rio
Urioste. It’s an honor to win small brewing company of the year and we’ll
continue to do our best here in southeast Denver.”
Gold Medals: Comrade Brewing Co. received gold medals for two of its India Pale Ales, Superpower IPA and More Dodge Less Ram.
The Small Brewing Company of the Year category is one of the most competitive as most breweries in the country brew between 1,000 and 14,999 barrels of beer per year. This is quite the achievement for a brewery which has a simple philosophy. “We make beer we like to drink and whatever is left over, we sell,” said Marks Lanham, Brewmaster for Comrade Brewing Co.
Superpower IPA was awarded a gold medal in
the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category, which had 131 entries. Superpower
IPA is an American IPA with loads of Pacific Northwest hops that lend huge pine
and grapefruit hop aroma and citrus flavors. Its bitterness is balanced with a
crisp, light malt character and is available year-round at the Comrade Brewing
tasting room.
More Dodge Less Ram, a triple-dry hopped
sister of Superpower IPA, took gold in the second most-entered category,
American-Style India Pale Ale, which had 342 entries. More Dodge Less Ram was
the first beer that Comrade brewed after a Dodge Ram plowed into the brewery
three years ago.
“I told David on August 25 we were going to
win this year,” said Lanham. “It’s been a challenging year for both of us.
David got married and had a child. I had less fortunate things happen to me.
When these things happen, it drives me to do better.”
A total of 322 judges from 18 countries do
blind tastes to evaluate the beers in defined style categories. This year,
2,295 breweries from around the country, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
submitted entries. There were 9,497 entries overall.
Caskmates: Jameson has long celebrated the timeless pairing of whiskey and beer. This year, Jameson Caskmates Irish Whiskey is proud to be partnering with local craft breweries from across the U.S. to be part of the Jameson Caskmates Brewery Partner program. Each of these outstanding breweries has created a unique Jameson barrel-aged beer, inspired by their love of Jameson’s whiskey and their unique neighborhoods. Jameson had a big presence at GABF for the second year in a row featuring breweries using their barrels for brewing.
“This year’s GABF competition was the
largest and most competitive to date,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager,
Great American Beer Festival. “The beers and talent were as impressive as ever,
and we congratulate this year’s winners for their achievements in brewing.”
In addition to the medal winners, there are
standout and under-the-radar beers that by the end of the festival, word has
spread. 2019 was no different for these exciting, and at times, adventurous
beers. These reporters were successful in trying over 150 beers over the three
days of GABF, and the following beers deserve attention. While it is difficult
to rank them based on favorites, all of them were outstanding beers, and most
of them had large lines waiting to try them before the weekend was finished.
Local favorite WeldWerks Brewing Co. from Greeley, Colorado, always has a long line. They seem to have the most unique beers year after year at the GABF. Last year’s Spaghetti Gose was the talk amongst many of the patrons. This year would be no different. WeldWerks brewed yet another masterful concoction called Taco Gose. It tastes just like you would expect it to with those ingredients — Taco Sauce Beer. When it is served with a mini taquito, it tastes even better.
“For 2019, we knew we had to up the ante so
we took things a step further by partnering with the folks at Horsetooth Hot
Sauce in Fort Collins to create a completely unique hot sauce, based on their
venerable The Green Hot Sauce, but aged for an extended amount of time in a
freshly emptied Medianoche barrel,” said Neil Fisher Co-Owner, Head Brewer of
WeldWerks Brewing Co. “Immediately after the barrel was emptied, we used the
hot sauce barrel to age our Taco Gose, brewed with over 600 lbs. of fire roasted
tomatoes, sea salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic
powder, and cumin. The result was Hot Sauce Barrel Aged Taco Gose, and it was
one of the first beers we kicked at all four sessions of GABF this year.”
WeldWerks is the most innovative brewery in this beer crazy state and it’s no wonder that they needed a GABF volunteer to manage the line for every session of this year’s event. In fact, the line was so long one evening, the fire marshal paid a visit to reroute how the line was formed.
“Fortunately, for those not as excited
about our savory sours, we had nine other beers available at the fest,
including four variants of Medianoche, our barrel-aged Imperial Stout,” said
Fisher. “According to Untappd metrics from GABF, three of the beers we poured
ranked in the top 10 out of more than 4,000 beers at the fest and all 10 of our
beers ranked in the top 150. We also finished the fest as the highest rated
brewery and the most checked-in brewery out of more than 800 breweries at the
fest. Those stats, coupled with the two medals we brought home from the
competition, make 2019’s Great American Beer Festival a tough one to top for
us.”
The next group of beers were complete surprises to these reporters and deserve to be mentioned with any award-winning beer that is found at GABF. Ology Brewing Co. from Tallahassee, Florida, brought the latest in their Juice Lab series. Ology rotates fruit for this series and this version had blueberries and raspberries in the brew. If you can imagine drinking a beer smoothie infused with an incredible amount of fruit, this is the beer you would crave. It is difficult to settle on a favorite beer of the entire festival, but this one is at the top. It is a fantastic beer and another brewery added to the must visit list.
Great Notion Brewing located in Portland, Oregon, had lines growing throughout the weekend. Blueberry Muffin and Sticky Bun were crowd favorites and as you stood in line to get their beers you overheard countless festival goers marveling at these two beers. Blueberry Muffin was perfect for anyone who was hoping to remember what a homemade blueberry muffin tasted like. Sticky Bun is an 11.3% ABV monster imperial breakfast stout with melted brown sugar, toasted pecan and cinnamon. It is almost like the sticky buns were fresh out of the oven.
Another beer on the list of notes was right there with Juice Lab as a favorite — Wake and Cake brewed by Burning Barrel Brewing Co. out of Rancho Cordova, California. This beer is a desert-inspired pasty sour loaded with pineapple, coconut, passion fruit, vanilla and marshmallows. A 9% beer that had so much flavor, it made you get back in line to try it again, and again to make sure you didn’t miss one of those flavors listed above.
Last but not least, remember in the ’70s when Coors was only sold west of Texas? The Tank Brewing Co. is following in their elusive footsteps, but in reverse. Their exceptional craft beer that’s brewed in Miami, is not currently available outside of Florida, so the GABF provides a rare window of opportunity for beer lovers to sample their award-winning liquid innovations. This included La Finca Miami (World Beer Cup 2018 Gold Medal winner).
Time To Get Silly: David Peterson, owner of the Bull & Bush Brewery, second from left, enjoys being silly with beer enthusiasts at The Great American Beer Festival on Thursday, October 3, 2019.
GABF never disappoints when it comes to
unique beers. And the ones listed here are just the beginning. If you do your
research, you can try so many different styles and types of beer. Don’t be
afraid to step outside of a comfort zone. If you are, you might just miss some
great beers.
Mark your calendar for 2020 as the 34th Annual Great American Beer Festival is set for September 24-26, 2020. Visit www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com for more information and for a list of all winners.
The state legislature put two proposals
before the voters this year. The first is Proposition CC which would
permanently end all Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (“TABOR”) refunds and was
strongly backed by Democratic lawmakers. The other, Proposition DD, would
legalize and tax sports betting by telephone to casinos in Colorado if passed.
It has strong support among Republican legislators. It is clear that people at
the State Capitol don’t believe either proposal has sufficient merit on its own
to garner statewide support so they hope to trick you into voting for them by
misleading language and sleight of hand.
Back in 2005 under Proposition C (which
provided for a pause in TABOR refunds for a five-year period) the legislature
promised to use the money for higher education and got gullible people, like
the then University of Colorado President Hank Brown (a former Republican U.S.
Senator), to support the proposition. When it passed they, in fact, used the
money for higher education, but then they cut even more funds for higher
education from the General Fund resulting in less money overall. As Brown
bluntly stated: “They lied to me.”
Now the legislature plans to pull the same
con hoping the voting public will forget what they did last time. This time the
ballot language says it will be used to “better fund public schools, higher
education, and roads, bridges and transit with an annual independent audit to
show how the retained revenues are spent.” The annual audit will, in fact, show
that the funds will be spent for the stated purposes. The fly in the ointment
is that the legislature will then cut the General Fund for those purposes in
excess of the amount raised and spend the money any way they please. This is
exactly what they with did Proposition C almost a decade and a half ago.
The ballot language for Proposition CC also
starts out declaring: “Without raising taxes . . . .” But it does, in fact,
raise taxes but simply not tax rates. We the taxpayers pay more taxes because
you will never again get a TABOR tax refund.
Brown and former Governor Bill Owens, both
of whom supported Proposition C, have come out against Proposition CC because
they at least remembered how they were lied to 14 years ago by the legislature.
The CC Proposition has drawn opposition
editorially across the political spectrum. The Denver Post argued, inter alia,
that the proposition was incredibly unfair in that it allocates any money for
K-12 education be done on a per pupil basis which rewards the richest school
districts, like those in the Cherry Creek School District, while harming the
poorest schools in inner city Denver and Western Slope rural schools.
The more conservative Colorado Springs
Gazette based their opposition on the fact that TABOR has been a bulwark
against overspending since 1992 and is an important element on why Colorado’s
economy is ranked number 1 in the country for the last several years. If the
additional billion dollars the legislature received this year under TABOR is
not enough, the $1.7 billion it would receive over three years under
Proposition CC will also not be enough and the spending spree will just be
starting.
Regarding, Proposition DD it is beyond a
little strange that Republicans in the State House are so enthusiastic about
opening Colorado to taxed sports betting and the inevitable increase in the
state bureaucracy. If you have been watching the advertisements on television,
they are all about state water projects that will be enhanced and the fact that
the casinos will be paying the 10% tax on winnings. What a joke. The casinos
will pass the cost on to sports bettors along with at least another 10%
vigorish to cover their costs and profits. No one in their right mind would
place a bet with the government approved casinos as the amount to be taken out
of winnings will be enormous and, of course, reported right back to your
friendly IRS, but as PT Barnum said: “There is a sucker born every minute.”
The amount going to so-called “water
projects” is incredibly small and for fiscal year 2020-21 it is as follows:
Estimated
Distribution Fiscal Year
2020-21 Percentage
The ads with the clinically obese cattleman
show the support for Proposition DD by various water related entities expected
to get some of the chicken feed doled out under the proposition, but none of
them paid a penny for the ads. The ads were funded solely by in-state casinos
and out-of-state betting consortiums who are the real beneficiaries of the
proposition.
Proposition DD is opposed on the right by
the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University which wonders why we
see the need for the state government to take and run an ever-increasing number
of human vices. On the left, Coloradans for Climate Justice noted how little is
being raised for so-called water projects and it noted the phrase “water
projects” is so vague as to be virtually meaningless.
So why are the Colorado House Republicans
supporting a proposal which appears to violate many of its purported
principles. The answer is obvious. The Republican Party in Colorado is
virtually bankrupt. The support by Republicans was undoubtably in return for a
promise of funding future Republican endeavors in Colorado by Colorado casinos
and the out-of-state betting consortiums.
We guess just about everyone is for sale at
some price down at the Capitol. There is no reason we should support such
egregious conduct by voting for either Proposition CC or Proposition DD.
Denver Slips To 29th Place In National Park Ranking; City
Pays $5.1 Million For Park Property; Pair Launches New Trust
by Glen Richardson
Denver parks have skidded to 29th place in the latest
national ranking of 100 big city parks. That is for a city that hovered just
beneath the top 10 at number 13 in the park hierarchy in 2015, just four years
earlier.
Useful Greenhouse: The 0.63-acre greenhouse space on newly purchased city park site is likely to be used by Parks & Recreation to support department’s main greenhouse at City Park.
This year’s Trust for Public Land ParkScore® released May 7
reveals just how fast and far Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver Parks &
Recreation Director Happy Haynes have dragged down Denver, once known as the
city within a park. As the administration sells or gives away park space to
developers, the amount of Denver’s city land used for parks has dwindled to 8%
compared to this year’s national median of 15%.
The city’s acreage average is rated 52.5 out of 100 with
investments rated slightly higher at 60 out of 100. The only thing that buoyed
Denver’s ranking was the wide distribution of its 314 parks, giving the city an
access score of 82.5 out of 100.
Trust, Park Purchase
Park Rank Plunges: Rated nation’s 13th best city for parks just four years ago, Denver has dropped to 29th place in latest national park ranking.
The dramatic drop in Denver’s city park ranking comes as the
launch of a new nonprofit known as the “Denver Park Trust” was announced. It is
a joint venture by Denver City Councilwoman Kendra Black and Frank Rowe, a
member of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.
It joins the ranks of cities such as Portland and
Minneapolis that have park foundations that help raise money and keep an eye on
public parks. According to Black and Rowe the trust will have an annual budget
of $250,000. The trust will provide added revenue to the funds raised by voter
passage of Measure 2A that added a .25% tax increase for park projects and land
acquisition. Black says even that increase can’t support Denver’s parks system.
“That’s where Denver Public Trust comes in,” she explains.
Coincidently the Denver City Council has approved a
resolution for the $5,100,000 purchase of property at 4301-4307 E. Iliff Ave.
in Black’s district for future use as city park land using 2A funds. It is the
2.26-acre site of Groundcovers Greenhouse located two blocks south of Evans
Ave. and three blocks east of Colorado Blvd. The retail-wholesale
nursery-greenhouse owned by Alison Tyler and Gary Luster closed at the end of
July. It is the first piece of land purchased using revenue from the 2A park
sales tax.
Greenhouse Site
Kendra Black
Nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood just east of
Colorado Blvd., the property operated as a greenhouse for nearly 40 years. The
city approached greenhouse owner Gary Luster with an offer. “As many of you
have heard, our property is being purchased by the city of Denver and will be
turned into a park within a couple of years,” he reported on Groundcovers’
website.
Luster told area news outlets he had never put the building
up for sale and had vowed that he never would. In the past decade he reportedly
turned down at least a dozen offers. “But we got the right offer for the right
reasons,” he concluded.
Councilwoman Black and Parks & Recreation officials say
they had been scouting the neighborhood for a park location for the last seven
years. “Additional park access in the University Hills North neighborhood is
critical to supporting an active, healthy lifestyle for the residents who live
there,” says Black. The closest parks in the neighborhood are Observatory Park,
Eisenhower Park, McWilliams Park and Prairie Park. All would require a 20 to
30-minute walk.
Few Year Project
While there are parks near University Hills such as Mamie D.
Eisenhower Park, the goal of 2A is to have parks within walking distance of all
residents. Many residents in University Hills also had to cross major streets
like East Yale Ave. This is something many parents are hesitant to let their
children do, according to Black.
Black says it will be a few years before a park is built.
First, the city will look at logistics and clear any buildings that won’t be
used. Parks & Recreation’s Gordon Robertson says the city may keep the
0.63-acre greenhouse space to support the department’s main greenhouse at City
Park. Any garden equipment left behind also may be repurposed.
The new park will then go through a public process. Either
late this year or early next year, the city will host an open house with
residents to determine what amenities they would like on the two-acre space,
which is a decent size for a typical park with a playground, according to
Robertson.
Vision For Trust
Frank Rowe
According to Frank Rowe — the only staff member and
executive director of the new Denver Park Trust — “Our vision is to acquire
land for new parks in high-density and high-need neighborhoods. We’ll also work
on providing ‘gap funding’ for projects within parks.”
Rowe says the nonprofit will focus on communities where
there isn’t a park within a 10-minute walk. One of Trust’s first projects will
be raising gap funding for renovation of St. Charles Park in the Cole
neighborhood. Phase one is complete, but funds are lacking to begin phase two,
he explains. Another early project taken on by the nonprofit is the addition of
a shade structure at Lindsley Park in the Hale neighborhood.
Black believes donors feel more comfortable writing a check
to a nonprofit rather than a governmental body. The Trust also aims to garner
public support and awareness of the city’s parks, Rowe adds. “I think if you
talk to most folks, they love their parks. And a lot of people want to get
engaged in their parks, participate and give back, so we can be a conduit for
that.”
Pair’s Background
New Park Property: City has paid $5.1 million for the 2.26-acre Groundcovers Greenhouse site on E. Iliff Ave. Denver is using voter approved 2A funds to buy the property located two blocks south of Evans and three blocks east of Colorado Blvd.
Prior to launching the trust, Rowe worked for six years at
the nonprofit news outlet Chalkbeat. He was appointed to the Parks &
Recreation Board by Councilwoman Black when she was first elected to city
council in 2015. His wife Anne Rose represents southeast Denver on the Denver
School Board, just as does Parks & Recreation Director Happy Haynes. Anne
Rowe served as Vice President of the School Board from 2013 to 2015.
While pursuing a park in her district, Black has been less
aggressive in support for parks and open space citywide and is considered extreme
pro-development. She supported the controversial drainage project at Park Hill
Golf Course and along with two other councilmembers supported some development
at the golf course. Some bloggers have scolded her for voting to spend money to
tear up City Park.
A study commissioned by The Park People, Greenway Foundation
and Kaiser Permanente with Denver’s support, reveals city parks deliver $7.1
million of revenue to the city while increasing resident wealth by $48.7
million.
