For the last eight-plus years the Denver City Council served
no earthly purpose whatsoever. Thirteen individual council members drew six
figure salaries, had gold plated health insurance and pension plans, along with
expensive office space and assistants, but did absolutely nothing in return
other than rubber stamp everything that a figure head Mayor and the high
density developers who controlled him, put before them.
Councilmember Candi CdeBaca: New Sheriff In Town
Citizens by the scores appeared before the City Council to
beg them for relief from the depravations of the merciless business cartels
such as the CEO driven and Orwellian named “Colorado Concern” and the rapacious
“Downtown Denver Partnership” but to no avail. The City Council even decided,
with the Mayor’s support, to essentially legalize (subject to state approval)
heroin sales to all, including children, under the rubric of caring “safe
injection sites.”
On the night of the second City Council meeting since the
2019 Spring municipal election there was nothing on the agenda which would
cause the Mayor and his staff to expect anything but the normal supine behavior
from the City Council that they had so long enjoyed. But on that night,
however, newly-elected City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca arose to object to
utterly mundane contracts to two outside contractors who run halfway houses for
approximately 500 convicts in the city. The money for the contracts was not
even from Denver, but rather the State. CdeBaca objected to the contracts on
the grounds that the contracts were with companies whose parent entities
provided detention facilities for ICE, and the fact that she did not like
for-profit companies making money off doing services which are normally
performed by government.
She stated she did not expect support from a single other
councilperson. To the shock of one and all, a majority of the Council supported
her, and the contracts were canceled. The cancellations shook the political
insider world of Denver. If a run-of-the-mill, non-controversial contract could
be cancelled at the whim of a single councilperson, how safe are the literally
hundreds of workie-workie contracts of the Mayor’s friends and city lobbyists?
Is anybody’s piece of the municipal corporate gravy train safe?
After that meeting came the equally shocking proposal by
Council President Jolon Clark of a $43 million carbon tax on businesses to
fund, inter alia, a city climate change office. Clark and his six Council
co-sponsors are a majority on the 13-person Council. The Mayor and his lackies
at the bought-off Denver Post, howled. How dare Clark act as if the City
Council was a democratically elected legislative body. Notwithstanding the
protestations, the Finance and Governance Committee approved passing on the
proposals to the full Council by a 4 to 3 margin with CdeBaca, Hines, Gilmore
and Clark voting in favor and holdovers, Ortega, Kniech and Black voting
against.
As a practical matter we don’t support either the
cancellations of the halfway house contracts or the carbon tax on businesses,
the latter of which has to be approved by the voters even if passed at the
Council level. But far more important to us than the actual merits of these
actions is the fact that a majority of the City Council are no longer willing
to act as a doormat for a corrupt Mayor and his backers. We are hoping that the
new majority will also oppose the rape of Park Hill Golf Course by Westside
Investments, LLC., and the destruction of the Elyria and Swansea neighborhoods
by the ill-conceived and unbelievably corrupt I-70 expansion, along with
hundreds of other projects designed to destroy what was once a truly beautiful
city and its neighborhoods.
Is it possible that representative democracy is returning to
the Mile-High City at long last? We certainly hope so.
The latest Cirque du Solei show to come to Denver is Corteo,
written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca. Corteo, which has been seen by
eight million people around the world, tells the story of a clown picturing his
own funeral, which takes place at a carnival and is witnessed by angels.
Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive
parade imagined by a clown.
Bouncing Beds: Like a gaggle of young kids playing in their grandparents’ room, six artists jump on two 600-pound beds that move on rotating platforms.
The show first premiered in 2005 under the big top in
Montreal and has been since updated for arenas in March 2018, keeping the
original story intact. The show features 51 performers, including acrobats,
clowns, musicians and actors.
Cirque du Solei has been entertaining Colorado audiences
since 1997. “We always have a great responsive audience there and we love to
perform in a place where people react well and enjoy our shows and I think it
adds a lot to the show,” said Max Batista, Tour Publicist for Cirque Corteo.
The stage has a unique setup as it will be set up in the
center of the arena and audience members will be on either side with good sight
views. Set Designer Jean Rabasse has divided the Grand Chapiteau and its
rotating stage in two, with each half of the audience facing the other half, so
they see not only the performance, but also have a performer’s eye view of the
audience. There is one turntable built into the stage, which is about 41 feet
long, and the track is almost 120 feet long.
This show also features six musicians and two singers who
are on stage with the performers. Typically, musicians and singers are hidden
from the audience but in Corteo, they are part of the show. “People can see us
all during the show,” said Eve Willems who plays the accordion, guitar, and
mandolin in Corteo.
Corteo: In this Cirque du Soleil a clown imagines his own funeral as a carnival of sorts, blending the ridiculous with the tragic. The show will be performed nine times from August 15 to August 22 at Pepsi Center.
The music accompanies the show and features different styles
of music including Spanish and Irish. Willems, who submitted her video
application to become a part of the show via Facebook, enjoys being part of
Cirque. “At first for me it was to discover all the different talents and I was
amazed to see all these people doing their tricks,” said Willems. “Now that we
have started, I like traveling with all these people and make people dream and
it’s really nice to be part of it.”
The show lasts two hours and 30 minutes (with a 20-minute intermission) and is packed
with death defying feats fans have come to expect from Cirque shows.
With the rising costs of airline tickets and all of the
expenses associated with traveling out of town, families are turning to more
economical trips to get away from the mountain of laundry and the yard work.
But what if you don’t want to spend seven hours in the car to take pictures of
the largest ball of twine in the U.S.? Consider the Gaylord Rockies Resort
& Convention Center which is less than 30 minutes away from central Denver.
Large Atrium: It is hard not to notice the Grand Lodges’ centerpiece the moment you walk in — the 75-foot-tall (eight stories high) atrium window offering spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains.
The Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is near
Denver International Airport and is a Marriott property that opened in December
2018. The 486,000 square feet of convention space makes it the largest combined
resort and convention center in Colorado. It is the fifth Gaylord property to
open with the others located in Washington D.C, Nashville, Orlando, and Dallas.
Even though this rustic resort focuses on the business
traveler during the week, families are welcome as this hotel boasts 1,501 rooms
including 114 suites. The rooms start at $249 per night which is a bargain
considering you eliminate airfare and car rental expenses.
Sprawling Resort: Gaylord Rockies is situated on 85 acres and never feels crowded.
When you first walk into the resort, you will notice the
Grand Lodges’ centerpiece, a 75-foot-tall (eight stories high) atrium window
offering spectacular views of the Denver skyline framed by the Rocky Mountains.
Consider upgrading to VIP status as the check-in process is
smooth and the “Celebrity Services” staff are able to make reservations at one
of the eight restaurants with priority seating. The on-site restaurants serve
steak and American, Asian and Italian fares.
Lazy River: The 22,000 square foot water park features an outdoor lazy river.
This resort’s main attractions are the indoor and outdoor
pools (which includes an infinity pool), an outdoor lazy river, and three water
slides. This water park is spread out over 22,000 square-feet. The entire
resort is situated on 85 acres of land so it never feels crowded. Guests can
reserve a cabana if they want their own dedicated space. Or, they may snag a
chair by the lazy river and relax.
Inside the Mountain Pass Sports Bar is a 75-foot viewing
screen, the largest in the state. This screen plays cartoons on Saturday
morning during the Character Breakfast. The breakfast features a buffet of
breakfast foods and characters from the book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
walking around to greet guests and pose for photographs. It is definitely worth
it for the little ones.
Sticking with the Wonderland theme, there is an escape room
which is fun for the entire family to experience. The “Hatter” gives clues while
people work as a team to solve the clues and escape the room. It runs $14.99
per guest. The resort also features an arcade, miniature golf, bike rentals,
pickleball, a market and more.
When you check in, be sure to ask about the free root beer
floats that are served daily. The Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention
Center is located at 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard. For more information
about the resort or to make a reservation, visit www.gaylordhotels.com.
Czar Of Cherry Creek’s Conversion Into A NY Village Plans To
Create $30 Million 18-Hour-A-Day Nightlife Hub
Cherry Creek Czar: BMC Investments CEO Matt Joblon is spending $30 million to remake and reposition the Inn at Cherry Creek.
When Peter Weber built the Inn At Cherry Creek 15 years ago,
it was the district’s boutique hotel. It opened on Clayton St. at about the
same time the JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek opened a block south at 150
Clayton Lane. That was when Cherry Creek North was still home to mostly
independently-owned boutique outdoor retail stores and dining destinations.
Then in 2014 the Denver City Council passed new zoning rules
for the district that reduced parking requirements, lifted restrictions on
building heights and allowed hotels in for the first time. Now most of the
independent retailers and dining destinations are gone, replaced by expensive
high-rise apartments and high-end New York retailers and restaurateurs. Three
new hotels — the Halcyon, Moxy and Jacquard — have been added. Matt Joblon —
CEO of BMC Investments and czar of the continuing massive Cherry Creek makeover
— built the Halcyon and Moxy and has a 99-year ground lease on the Inn at
Cherry Creek. The Halcyon and Moxy are both within half a mile of the Inn at
Cherry Creek. BMC has developed or is in the process of developing more than
$500 million in projects, all in Cherry Creek North.
The Inn at Cherry Creek continued to operate for a year, but
Joblon has now begun a year-long renovation or more accurately a makeover and
repositioning of the boutique site at 233 Clayton St. The existing building — a
four-story property with 37 hotel rooms, three residences and three commercial
spaces — is being gutted and 15,000-20,000-sq.-ft. of space added at an
estimated cost of $30 million. The MBC project is a collaboration with
hospitality and development industry veterans Aparium Hotel Group and
CHMWarnick.
Culture Makeover: A year-long renovation of the four-story Inn at Cherry Creek is underway on Clayton St. The hotel and three commercial spaces are being gutted and 15,000-20,000-sq.-ft. of space added at an estimated cost of $30 million.
Adding Fifth Floor
The renovation is expected to include a partial fifth floor
to the four-story hotel. The new space will be rebranded but fewer than a
half-dozen rooms are expected to be added.
The Inn’s original restaurant — The Weber Grill — was
shuttered by Joblon almost immediately after signing the 99-year lease. In its
place Joblon has promised “a great new space” that will be much larger, serving
three meals a day.
Joblon also plans to expand the hotel’s retail space. To do
that he is bringing in a third party to do an “experimental type of retail that
does not currently exist in Cherry Creek.” He has often referred to this
pro-posed space as an “upscale bazaar” similar to the Denver Central Market. Or
maybe something like the Greenwich Village Abingdon Square Greenmarket.
Boutique Beauty: For 15 years relatives of Valley families along with tourists to Denver stayed in the boutique Inn at Cherry Creek that featured 37 rooms.
Getting Party Going
You may think that Cherry Creek nightlife is dead but don’t
be fooled, Joblon plans to get the party going again at the renovated space. In
fact he wants to transform the hotel and the street from an “eight-hour-a-day
to an 18-hour-a-day community.”
Nightlife Epicenter: Renovated hotel will feature cocktail bars, music and entertainment similar to Café Wha? in New York City.
That means the hotel will feature music, food and other
amenities. “We want to do a project that is focused around the cultural part of
Cherry Creek to really grow and expand that part of it … for both locals and
people coming out and visiting,” Joblon says.
The renovated hotel’s nightlife — cocktail bars, music,
entertainment and art — will be inside so the neighborhood won’t complain.
Joblon originally planned for live music on the rooftop terrace at the Halcyon
Hotel but the neighborhood association squashed the notion because of the
hotel’s proximity to condos.
Culture Epicenter
He wants the new Inn at Cherry Creek to become its own
thriving, diverse community. Meeting rooms and community areas are being
designed into the hotel’s expansion. “The core of our vision is to create a
place that becomes the cultural epicenter for this neighborhood.”
Upscale Bazaar: Rebranded hotel is introducing a new type of retail to Cherry Creek similar to the Denver Central Market.
Think New York’s Greenwich Village or as New Yorkers call it,
“The Village.” He wants the hotel and Clayton Street to become Cherry Creek’s
bohemian capital, a spot with places like Greenwich Village’s Fat Cat and Café
Wha? He dreams of the Clayton block becoming an updated and stylish version of
Greenwich’s MacDougal St., where throngs flock to enjoy drinks, live music and
meet up with friends.
He believes the hotel has incredible potential to be a
destination in and of itself and thus help the neighborhood to thrive. He aims
for the hotel to draw all types of people with all kinds of stories. “That’s
what I think is going to make this place really special. Not to mention very,
very different.”
Marriage Of Money
The 30-something Joblon grew up in the Boston area — his
family owns Brittany Global Technologies — and moved to LA to work for an
individual real estate investor. That’s where he met his future wife Alissa
Alpert, daughter of Lee Alpert who has developed more than 44,000 acres of
Denver real estate. Joblon moved here in 2010, married Alissa and met Darren Everett
who at the time was VP of Operations for the Alpert Companies. Everett is a
founding partner of BMC Investments and President of BMC’s property management
affiliate, BLDG Management.
Party Cat: New space will be an 18-hour-a-day party animal designed to be similar to Greenwich Village’s Fat Cat.
Soon after moving here — Joblon lives in Cherry Hills
Village but has offices in a Cherry Creek building he built at 2nd Ave. and
Detroit — he began building a relationship with the Inn at Cherry Creek owner
Peter Weber. He says he wanted to make sure that another party didn’t beat BMC
to the deal and create a brand that would compete with his nearby hotels.
Earlier this year, of course, BMC sold the Halcyon Hotel to Ohio-based
Rockbridge Capital for $93 million.
The rebranded Inn at Cherry Creek will still face the same
problems as the other two hotels: attracting hospitality and retail workers!
Why? Cherry Creek North’s expensive parking and relative lack of public
transportation.
