The spring and summer months of 2019 were a
troubling time for Denver’s LoDo district, as incidents of late-night violence
rendered multiple stabbings and shootings resulting in several fatalities. Such
details are troubling in any district, yet the fact that this area is home to
an array of high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, high-priced boutiques and
high-class clothiers makes the juxtaposing crime rate an anomaly indeed.
Crime Scene: Violent crime is on the rise in downtown Denver’s LoDo district.
Several socioeconomic dynamics intersect in
this grid, creating what could be called a perfect storm for senseless violence
occurring on an escalating scale.
This area is home to the 16th Street Mall —
a retail mecca for shopaholics, tourists and sightseers with expendable income.
The fact that, on any given day, thousands of people on foot navigate the
marketplace in search of keepsakes, tech necessities, high-end accessories and
urban adventure is irresistible to buskers, scam artists and spare changers.
The majority of the latter live on the streets, and according to nation
alhomeless.org, “a high percentage of homeless people struggle with substance
abuse [which] can cause homelessness, but it often arises after people lose
their housing.”
A clearer understanding of the problems in
the area can be gained by considering the types of people drawn to it beyond
those living downtown at very high rental rates. The focus here is on homeless
people, tourists, drug dealers and nightlife party people and how their overlapping
motivations may be the root cause of late-night violence.
Behold The Stampede
According to Longwoods International — a
data compilation firm providing statistics to Visit Denver Convention and
Visitors Bureau — 31 million people visited the Mile-High City in 2018,
resulting in tourism revenue of $6.5 billion. The firm also lists the 16th
Street Mall first among the top shopping and entertainment destinations for
visitors from New York, L.A., Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City
and Phoenix. According to a high number of negative reviews on tripadvisor.com,
many visitors firmly attest to the fact that an astonishing homeless presence
defines the area, complete with aggressive panhandlers, overflowing needle
disposal bins and the occasional fatality from drug overdose. The old adage of
“If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it” applies here, meaning that panhandlers
needing to support their addiction can do so by panhandling tourists for money.
Violent Crime: Denver police officers are increasingly called to the scenes of violent crime in the LoDo district.
Summon The Dealers
Addictions thrive on the availability of
the substance in question, be it crack, meth, fentanyl, heroin, prescription
drugs, etc. A large concentration of people dealing with the stress of living
without a residence, without family, without treatment for mental illness and
any number of other terrible conditions equates to a ripe market for any
enterprising drug dealer. According to part of a statement issued by the
National Drug Intelligence Center, “Gangs are the primary distributors of drugs
on the streets of the United States.” As there are over 110 known street gangs
in Denver, the LoDo district is undoubtedly targeted by more than one
organization, which gives rise to the violence inherent in territorial
disputes.
Hail The Party People
As the downtown foot traffic shifts from
shoppers looking for a good deal to young people looking for a good time, one
can reasonably postulate that the drug commerce adjusts in tandem to a more
lucrative yet discreet clientele. According to the opinions of local business
owners and their employees, territorial tensions may escalate as the night
marches on. Mike Villano, former owner of Chances Bar and Grill and longtime
contributor to the LoDo workforce, attests that “The violence is definitely
gang related. Gangsters are capitalists and weekend nights in LoDo are a
concentration of their target market.” The presence of alcohol and the general
eruptive nature of crowd mentality makes it easy to see why altercations
between rivals are inevitable. Meanwhile, a manager at an area establishment
who preferred to comment anonymously states that “ … with people blasting
(discharging weapons), one can only assume that some sort of gang affiliation
is involved.” The longtime LoDo worker continues with a cautionary piece of
advice for bar-hoppers, “Pay attention to your surroundings and know when to
vacate the area in a hurry.”
Dramatic Change: Lower downtown Denver can go from pristine to deadly in a matter of a couple hours.
The reality of the situation is that people
in LoDo are carrying guns around, pulling them out in the middle of the night,
and shooting strangers. If you’re going shopping downtown you can keep the
panhandlers at bay with stony veneer or a pocket full of spare change, and if
you’re going out for drinks afterward, keeping the danger at bay can be very
difficult.
The Long-Term Viability Of Fast-Delivery Denver Apartment Buildings
by Luke Schmaltz
The Crane: Denver’s unofficial national bird.
Although the official Colorado state bird
is the Lark Bunting, it has seemingly been replaced across the greater Denver
metro area by the crane. For the past several years, the Mile-High City skyline
has become increasingly dotted with these towering industrial effigies — as
long-standing, recently demolished structures are replaced with mid-rise odes
to blandness. These rapidly erected residential buildings have earned
disparaging nicknames from journalists and pedestrian critics alike such as
fugly, McUrbanist, fast-casual architecture, contemporary contempt, LoMo (low
modern), blandmarks and spongebuild squareparts.
A New Development
More Cranes: The skyline at a familiar downtown Denver intersection undergoes alteration.
In 2015, Denver adopted the International
Building Code (IBC) which allows for podium-style mid-rise residential
buildings to be primarily constructed of wood rather than concrete and steel.
The new code meant that a two-story concrete base known as a “podium” could be
vertically succeeded by up to five levels of wood-framed construction. This, in
turn, opened the door for a host of money-saving dynamics such as unspecialized
labor, cost-effective raw materials and quicker completion timelines.
A Nationwide Trend
This generic approach to residential development is not unique to Denver, rather, it is a trend rearranging the personalities of inner cities from Seattle to Austin and Minneapolis to Charlotte. The rising costs of land, labor and certain building materials has made wood framing the default method of construction — allowing for the creation of a business model with an attractive bottom line even though the product itself is anything but.
Supply And Demand
Competing For Space: A crane competes with the Millennium Bridge for skyline space near Denver’s Confluence Park.
According to The Denver Post, area
developers had 26,916 apartment units under construction at the end of 2018,
with a projected minimum of 12,000 units to be built every year for the
foreseeable future. This number is dwarfed by projections from Cary Bruteig,
owner of Denver’s Apartment Insights, a data reporting company that expects
2019 apartment construction to render upward of 25,700 units in 2019.
The phenomenon of cheaply resourced,
quickly erected residential structures gives rise to the issue of longevity.
Will these light-frame, wood fortified dwellings with flat window facades and
multi-colored exterior panels maintain their appeal at the same price point
into the next decade? A surging demand for affordable housing meets that
question with a resounding “yes.” Yet, in the event of a recession or if cheap
construction proves to fail the test of time, these aesthetic atrocities may
prove to be the 21st Century equivalent of 19th century balloon-frame buildings
— which were defined as being poorly maintained, substandard housing for the
lowest social rung of tenancy just above homeless. Lest history forget, these
structures were reduced to ash in tragic events such as the San Francisco Fire
of 1851 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
The Price Of Cost-Effective Construction
While lack of aesthetic appeal and inflated
prices brought on by high demand are obvious drawbacks, economically built wood
frame construction buildings also carry several subsurface concerns. Structures
of this sort are susceptible to moisture being drawn into wall cavities, where
it can become trapped and foster wood rot due to humidity and the growth of
mold. The latter, in turn, can cause allergic and asthmatic reactions from
occupants. Wood framed buildings are also known for attracting termites, having
low thermal mass (ability to retain heat), offering poor sound insulation
between units, being vulnerable to fire damage and emitting volatile organic
and chemical compounds which diminish indoor air quality.
Distractions Abound
Prominent: Not a Lark in sight, yet the crane is obtrusive.
In a preemptive strategy to counter this
possibility, many developments are attracting top dollar clientele by offering
deluxe, high-end amenities. Luxuries such as on-site car washes, dry cleaners,
full-range fitness centers, work-from-home office areas, dog runs, complementary
weekend brunches and valet trash services aim to disguise the fact that most
tenants are living in identical boxes built by unskilled workers laboring at
breakneck speed. These overpriced cookie cutter domiciles include few, if any
features which discern one unit from another and zero signs of craftsmanship,
personalization or style. Many excited tenants, however, are far too distracted
by innovative diversions such as goat yoga, Zen gardens, tanning beds,
old-school video arcades, bowling alleys and free beer.
High-End On The Rise
An abundance of amenities, perks, on-site
attractions, as well as the inimitable allure of being the first tenant in a
new apartment, all add to the exorbitant rental prices brought on by a high
demand for housing. A new rental in a high-end downtown Denver facility can run
pretty high — such as $7,000+ for 1,324 square feet at Union Denver to $15,000
or more per month for a penthouse suite at The Confluence. Of course, not all
rates are mouth-droppingly Manhattan-esque, as many units appeal to a more
philistine price point such as a studio at The Verve on Delgany for just $1,563
or a studio at the Country Club Towers on Bayaud for a mere $1,855.
A Long-Term Diagnosis
The professional opinion of master
carpenter Richard Welker sheds some long-term light on the subject of
sustainability. Welker, a longtime Denver resident who recently relocated to
Portland, has personally worked on hundreds of wood-frame apartment units. He
attests “lumber isn’t what it used to be, but long-term, you can always repair
the guts of something that is made of wood. Theoretically, if stringent
maintenance protocols are followed, these buildings could last a really long
time.” This statement clearly places long-term viability on building owners and
managers, and whether they continue to be inhabited long after their new veneer
has worn away depends on what, if any, aesthetic taste tenants may have.
Plainly put, if people are willing to pay to rent dwellings that are ugly and
overpriced, they will continue to dominate the rental marketplace and the
skylines of inner city, U.S.A.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used
when we created them.”
— Albert Einstein
The importance of recycling seems, to some degree, to have
taken a back seat to the divisive nature of the global warming argument. Yet,
regardless of how you choose to process scientific evidence about carbon
emissions and the rising temperature of the planet, the fact remains that
civilization is producing massive amounts of trash. Further, some (not all) of
the elements which end up in the landfill do so unnecessarily, and can better
serve the greater economic good by being redirected back into the consumer
commodities market.
Garbage Piles: Piles of garbage create mounting concerns.
Understand The Economics
Recycling is a bipartisan-friendly notion. From a purely
fiscal standpoint, there are significant, trackable levels of energy savings
that occur with specific types of materials such as aluminum and paper. The
Reynolds Metal Company reports that making aluminum cans from their recycled
counterparts takes 95 percent less energy than manufacturing them from raw
aluminum bauxite. Meanwhile, the American Forest and Paper Association reports
that recycling one ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water and enough energy
to power the everyday household for six months.
Consider The Environmental Angle
From an anti-pollution approach, according to denvergov.org,
the average family can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 340 pounds of carbon
equivalent per year by simply recycling all of its mixed plastic waste. Also,
the Glass Packaging Institute offers further eco-friendly evidence by reporting
that glass recycling can reduce water pollution by 20% and air pollution by
50%. These stats are backed by the National Recycling Coalition, which reports
that eight to 10 major types of water and air pollutants can be reduced through
recycling. Plus, less garbage means less land that must be allocated for
landfills.
Choose Your Facts And Act
The key to reducing the financial and environmental burden
of unnecessary waste lies in the average citizen adopting a mindset of cyclic
thinking in exchange for cause-and-effect behavior. This means integrating
recycling into your long-term habits and routines rather than practicing it as
an afterthought once the trash has already been produced. Whether you are
driven by economic practicality or eco-friendly concern, here are seven ways
you can do your part to expand the effort to reduce waste that is unnecessarily
dumped into the ground.
Buy Recycled
Purchasing products that are made from or packaged in
recycled materials helps increase the demand within this segment of the
consumer product market. These can be paper goods, building materials made from
recycled plastic and steel, refilled printer cartridges, activewear, smartphone
covers and tote bags — just to name a few.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bags)
Speaking of bags, you can greatly reduce paper and plastic
waste by supplying your own means of getting your groceries home. The Recycling
pages on denvergov.org repeatedly state that plastic bags cannot be recycled
because they jam up the materials sorting machinery. That’s right — all plastic
bags, even though you can reuse them once or twice around the house —
eventually end up in the landfill. If everyone stopped relying on them, demand
for landfill space could be systematically reduced.
Decontaminate Containers
Food containers that are placed in the recycle bin without
first being rinsed out introduce contaminants into the process as the organic
material begins to decompose. You can reduce the amount of items which end up
in the landfill because they are full of food residue by giving items such as
yogurt cartons, jelly jars, tin cans and juice bottles a sufficient rinse before
recycling. This scenario includes the ever-present and confounding pizza box.
While the box bottom, if covered in grease and residue, cannot be recycled — it
can be composted by cutting it into small pieces and placing it in your
backyard facility. Meanwhile, the box lid, as long as it is grease-free, can
always be recycled.
Purchase Less Packaging
Your shopping protocol can involve a “buy less packaging”
approach by making a plan ahead of time to curtail old habits in the produce
section. Specifically, by choosing to not place fruits and vegetables which you
plan to wash anyway into plastic bags as you pick them off the shelf. You can
also choose products in compostable packaging (as indicated on the label) and
you can buy items you consume regularly in bulk.
Donate Don’t Discard
Unwanted goods such as furniture, household items, cooking
utensils and clothing do not have to be thrown away — especially if they are
still functional or can be easily repaired. By taking them to your local thrift
store, they can be reappropriated by someone who needs them instead of winding
up in the landfill while still having value.
Maximize Organic Matter
According to the EPA, 30% of everything people throw away is
comprised of food and yard waste. Grasscycling and composting are excellent
ways of reducing the amount of plastic bags and fuel needed to haul away grass
clippings and uneaten scraps. In turn, you are helping to save landfill space
by placing organic matter in your own backyard — which enriches the soil, reduces
the need for synthetic fertilizers and lowers your carbon footprint by
decreasing methane emission from the landfill.
Go Out Of Your Way
Aluminum Cans: Properly recycled aluminum can be turned back into usable cans for a fraction of the costs of processing raw aluminum bauxite.
If you’re already a proactive Denver recycler, you may have
more items than can fit in your purple recycle bin. If this is the case, you
can access the Cherry Creek Recycling Drop-off facility for overflow items that
do not belong in the landfill as well as compostable materials such as food
scraps and yard clippings. This is a service for Denver residents only, not for
commercial entities.
In the realm of environmental issues, there are some areas
where opinions are not unanimous. When it comes to recycling, however, any way
you look at it (especially not facing downward into the landfill) makes
practical, economic, eco-friendly sense.
The sweltering months of 2019 were bumper-to-bumper trouble
for U.S. Highway 36 commuters.
Questions Raised: Residents began to ask how long it would take to fix and who was going to pay for it?
If you are one of the 107,000 motorists or public
transportation customers who traverse this corridor daily, here’s hoping your
vehicle has air conditioning, your playlist is extensive, and your boss knows
you’re going to be late.
A considerable crack in the surface layer appeared July 12,
2019, prompting Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews to close the
eastbound lanes at Church Ranch Blvd. The decision was indeed prudent, as the
fissure soon gave way to a gap that eventually ruptured into a ditch-like
sinkhole in the road.
By July 15, 2019, traffic in both directions had been
diverted to two respective lanes of the westbound corridor — resulting in a
bottleneck effect in an already heavily congested zone. This allowed some
traffic flow, however sluggish, so that CDOT crews could access the area,
analyze the damage and embark on a massive repair project.
Meanwhile, the event sparked several issues, as area
residents, CDOT personnel and daily commuters began to ponder the obvious. How
long would it be before the damage was fixed, why had a new stretch of road
caved in like the top of a half-baked cake, and perhaps most importantly, where
would the money come from to pay for the reconstruction?
A Dubious Timeline
Lateral and aerial photos revealed a multi-dimensional
calamity, as the horizontal depression in the road was countered by a vertical
eruption of retaining wall concrete slabs, debris-ridden soil and mangled
rebar. On July 15, 2019, CDOT chief engineer Josh Laipply was quoted by several
news outlets including Colorado Public Radio (CPR) as stating that it would be
“weeks” before the highway would be returned to an operational condition.
Several days later, that statement was amended by CDOT Executive Director
Shoshana Lew, who offered that it would be “a matter of months” for the repair
to be completed.
Meanwhile CDOT Communications Director Matt Inzeo via phone
interview declined to comment on a projected timeline. He pivoted instead and
offered that the retaining wall-supported embankment upon which the highway was
built sits next to a “wetlands area that used to be a lake.”
A Sinking Feeling
Crack In The Surface: A considerable crack in the surface layer appeared July 12, 2019, prompting Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews to close the eastbound lanes at Church Ranch Blvd.
The aforementioned information, perhaps inadvertently,
placed a certain gravity on a statement issued by CDOT spokesperson Tamara
Rollison, who explained “It appears water has gotten underneath the section
that’s collapsing. It looks like it’s unraveling.”
At this point in the story, the term “collapsing soils” was
introduced as a possible culprit. A blog published by CPR offered a statement
from professor of construction engineering management at CU Boulder, Cristina
Torres-Machi. It states: “[Torres-Machi] said it looks like a nearly textbook
example of what she called ‘slope failure,’ essentially a landslide … She
said it’s likely because of collapsing soils.”
Just in case (like most folks) you are not a geology major,
collapsing soils are comprised of dry, low-density particles which can
withstand significant impact without losing volume. Once water is introduced,
however, the particles break apart, densify and undergo a significant reduction
in volume. Oftentimes this results in the sudden appearance of a sinkhole.
In early August, a phone interview with Colorado Geological
Survey Senior Engineering Geologist Jonathan White revealed contrary
information that seemed to muddy the waters. Professor White explained that the
embankment supporting the highway was comprised of “highly saturated, already
wet soils” and the sinkhole was “most likely caused by a lateral landslide” and
“was not the result of the presence of collapsing soils.” Professor White
explained further that the wetlands adjacent to the highway were inherently
responsible for the preliminary presence of moisture in the soil beneath the
highway. He finished by stating that sudden influx of more water did not cause
a collapsing soil situation and the disaster was more likely attributable to
“an engineering issue.”
Who’s Going To Pay For This?
If Professor White is indeed correct, then upon whose
shoulders gets foisted the blame? If it is neither the cause of collapsing
soils or the effects of plain ol’ gravity, then by default, human error takes
the spotlight. Regardless, the road must be repaired. A massive reconstruction
project was launched as soon as engineers determined the debris and soil had
ceased to shift and collapse.
This section of highway was completed just over five years
ago in a joint venture between Granite Construction of California and Ames
Construction of Aurora. By all estimations, it should most certainly not be
crumbling, yet until engineering failure on the behalf of the contractors is found
to be the cause, other monies have been allocated to pay for the
reconstruction.
With Colorado’s massive influx of marijuana-based tax
revenue, it is clear the $20.4 million repair and reimbursement estimate should
be easy to meet by this revenue stream alone. After all, in 2019 alone, total
tax revenue is projected by the Colorado Department of Revenue to be somewhere
around the $30 million mark. Some experts believe it stands to reason that
coffers swelling with monetary influx that was virtually nonexistent when that
section of the road was built should rightly be tapped to remedy its untimely
demise. Yet, when pressed for information on where the “contingency funds”
allocated by the State Transportation Commission were being siphoned from,
representatives of CDOT, Colorado Department of Revenue and Colorado Department
of the Treasury declined to elaborate. A representative of the latter (who
refused to be named) offered only the tersely toned retort “… well, first of
all, treasury is not revenue.” Whatever that is supposed to mean, it sounds
about as solid as collapsing soil.
