by Valley Gadfly | Sep 26, 2024 | Valley Gadfly
Ah, October: The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter! It’s the fall season: A time for cozy hugs and warm mugs!
This is a month for pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon-scented candles, and Halloween décor. It’s the time of the year when autumn finally feels like it’s kicking into high gear.
As breezes serenade the trees, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment, for a confident, colorful, and cool month to celebrate those fall feelings:
One of today’s top guitar pickers and singers, Fort Collins-based blues, country, and folk artist Cary Morin brings his four-piece band Ghost Dog to entertain at Dazzle in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. Information: 303-839-5100.
All art aficionados: The Cheesman Fall Arts Invitational has paintings, sculpture, and jewelry in the park Oct. 5-6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 303-324-5956.
The Colorado Symphony Cello Ensemble performs in rich, deep chocolatey tones at Boettcher Concert Hall, Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-623-7876.
Be a Charlie Brown, find a Great Pumpkin at Four Mile Park’s Pumpkin Harvest Festival with music, acts, Oct. 12-13, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 720-865-0800.
Holiday shop in Woodward Studios at 1950 S. Holly, #8. View fine art, furniture, jewelry, boards-platters in artist’s studio and show room. Invitational Exhibition is Sept. 22-Oct. 31 with Reception Sept. 22, 3-5 p.m. Information: 617-460-1668.
Looking for some cash to spend during the holidays? Colorado Gold Mart loans cash for gold jewelry, diamonds, Rolexes, vintage watches, and coin collections. In business for 30 years at 1124 S. Colorado Blvd. Information:303-692-0555.
Plan to see Grammy nominated saxophonist, arranger, and composer Lakecia Benjamin at the Newman Center Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-871-7720.
The world’s most famous brass group today, the Canadian Brass entertain at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Oct. 20, 2:30 p.m. Information: 720-865-4220.
Take your boys and ghouls to the Halloween Spooktacular concert with films and TV music at Boettcher Hall, Oct. 27, 2:30 p.m. Information: 303-623-7876.
Support mental health, plus substance use care, by attending the 41st Annual Tribute Fundraising Gala for Mental Health Colorado. The formal attire occasion is in the Grand Hyatt Denver, October 12, 6 p.m. Enjoy art, live music, and dancing, with drinks and dinner. Information: 720-208-2220.
October always seems more October-y than other months. Confident, cool, and commanding. Cherry Creek Valley communities craft an October for the ages each year.
Parks and lawns stretch like a carpet of jewels, emerald, topaz, and garnet. The trees along the highway glow yellow and bronze. Everywhere you walk the colors shout and sing.
Summer’s oppressive heat is just a memory, and the golden leaves promise a month full of picturesque memories. Everyone loves October, it’s the month we all fall for each year.
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 23, 2024 | Main Articles
Construction On Cherry Creek North’s Delay-Plagued, But Plush Condo Project At 2nd & Steele Set For January Start
by Glen Richardson
Miami’s Stacked Boxes: Cherry Creek’s condo developer PMG built this 100-story Waldorf Astoria hotel-condo tower. It is a design inspired by stacked and cantilevered boxes.
Waldorf Astoria — the name that evokes history and elegance — first announced plans for a Cherry Creek North condo building in December 2021. Three years later, build-out of the much-anticipated project site at 185 N. Steele St. is at last imminent. The proposed start date is January 1, 2025, with completion expected in 2026.
Upper Crust In Creek: Architectural rendering shows what the much-anticipated Waldorf Astoria condos building at 2nd Ave. and Steele St. will look like. Start date is January, 2025.
Property Markets Group (PMG), the development firm behind a 100-story Waldorf Astoria hotel and condo tower in Miami, and its architecture firm, Shears Adkins Rockmore, presented architectural renderings to the Cherry Creek North Design Advisory Board earlier this year. PMG also owns the block where TV station Denver7 operated for decades and plans to develop a 12-story, 600-unit apartment complex on that site. The station has relocated to Delgany St. in RiNo.
The architectural firm’s Andy Rockmore told the design board that the five-story building is intended to serve as a transition between shorter buildings to the east and taller buildings — up to 12 stories — to the west. PMG initially requested that the city rezone the property to allow up to eight stories. However, the development firm ultimately decided to be content with five stories, and withdrew the application before the city could respond.
A $29.1 Million Deal
PMG spent $29.1 million in multiple transactions between late 2021 and early 2023 to acquire the 0.81-acre site where the condo building will be built. The spot is where the former Italian trattoria Piatti has sat empty since Christmas 2021. The project will also include the plot of land where the longtime closed Cherry Creek Bombay Clay Oven restaurant building stands.
The development firm’s plans now call for a five-story, 172,000-sq.-ft. luxury condo project to be built on the 0.81-acre site. It will feature roughly 40 residential units across floors two through five, including seven penthouses on the top floor, six of which will have private rooftop terraces.
The smallest units will be about 670-sq.-ft., whereas the largest penthouse will occupy a substantial 5,000-sq.-ft. The roof will also include a common terrace space for residents, plus a bar, and a nearly 900-sq.-ft. pool.
Restaurant & Retail
Pricey Piatti Plot: PMG paid $29.1 million for spot where the Italian restaurant Piatti has sat empty since Christmas 2021.
Preeminent Perspective: This rendering shows a slightly less formal perspective of the delay-plagued but plush condo project.
The building will have approximately 2,200-sq.-ft. dedicated to a residential lobby and concierge area. Site plans for the ground level of the building also show the structure will house a 4,360-sq.-ft. restaurant and bar on the corner of 2nd Ave. and St. Paul. There will be 3,532-sq.-ft. of retail space on the corner of Steele and 2nd Ave. The project design also calls of a 70-space underground parking garage.
Given the price PMG paid for the land and the proposed number of condos in the building, each unit is expected be listed for sale at multimillion dollar prices. For reference, a three-bedroom condo in PMG’s Miami tower start at $3.3 million.
“Cherry Creek has been a specifically targeted neighborhood for us,” explains Ryan Shear, PMG managing partner. “We love Denver, we’ve built in Denver before, and we’re excited to introduce a high-end condo project into Cherry Creek North. We aim to provide the best and most seamless addition to the neighborhood.”
Open Space, Alley Doubts
Bulldozing Bombay: The iconic condo brand is also replacing the longtime closed Cherry Creek Bombay Clay Oven restaurant building.
Plans initially called for an existing alley running north to south through the site to be replaced by one running east to west, to the south of the building. The developer argued that the change would facilitate loading and access to car elevators for the underground parking garage.
Cherry Creek North’s design board had questioned and expressed concerns about the alley relocation. They also had doubts about the amount of open space provided by the developer. Cherry Creek’s zoning mandates that at least 15% of a property must remain open. Several board members voiced concerns that the design deviated significantly from neighboring structures. Thus, the board was concerned the project would not mix well with neighboring buildings within Cherry Creek.
“We believe it fits with the district character,” Rockmore responded. “Our goal is to achieve a higher standard, to raise the bar.” Ultimately, the board did not approve the designs at the time, requesting that the developer and architect address concerns regarding mass reduction and amount of open space. It remains unclear how PMG and architects at Shears Adkins Rockmore have addressed the alley and open space concerns expressed by the design board.
by Valley Gadfly | Aug 23, 2024 | Main Articles
Glendale’s Sammy Sullivan Stars In Paris Games; Women’s Elite Rugby Picks Denver As First Pro Site
by Glen Richardson
We Won: Sammy Sullivan, who lives in Glendale, reacts as she joins her Olympic teammates after winning bronze at the Paris Olympics.
Boundless Playground: Infinity Park is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the U.S., and the country’s first municipality- owned stadium.
Glendale, America’s rugby haven and its moniker as RugbyTown USA, is in the spotlight’s beam again as the U.S. earned its first-ever medal in women’s rugby at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
After never finishing an Olympic rugby competition better than fifth, the U.S. women took home the bronze medal after a thrilling 14-12 comeback victory against Australia, the gold medalists in 2016. In Tokyo, the U.S. was knocked out before the medal round by Great Britain. The Americans got payback in Paris, eliminating Great Britain in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. team included Sammy Sullivan. a star Colorado rugby player for Glendale’s Gray Wolves. Now Denver — and possibly Glendale — is getting a new team in the Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) league. The league is targeting next year (2025) for its inaugural season. The revelation coincides with the U.S. winning its first-ever Olympic medal. If WER does launch here, it would be the first fully professional women’s sports team in metro Denver.
Glendale Rugby Boom
Biding Time: First lady Jill Biden, left, speaks with Glendale’s Olympic women’s rugby player Sammy Sullivan, in Eaubonne, France.
American rugby got its start in 2007 with the building of the Infinity Park Stadium in Glendale. It is one of the only rugby-specific stadiums in the country, and the first municipality-owned stadium of its kind in the country. Infinity Park hosts oodles of different rugby events, matches, and activities. Glendale also offers a variety of youth rugby, including spring after school rugby, and summer flag rugby. There’s also a high-altitude training center, considered one of the finest rugby training facilities in the country.
Glendale’s Mayor Mike Dunafon — who played a stint with the Denver Broncos —launched Infinity Park and rugby for what he describes as “its camaraderie and sportsmanship.” The decision was his commitment to the community.
The strong performance in Paris will be impactful for Glendale, the Mile High City, and the sport as a whole. After this summer’s bronze-medal win, USA Rugby announced that Michelle Kang — owner of the Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, and London City Lionesses women’s soccer clubs — will gift $4 million over the course of four years to the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team. Enrollment in the sport has climbed in the U.S. ever since rugby sevens became an Olympic sport in 2016. Look for the game to soar in 2025.
Sullivan Stars
Tournament Town: Rugby tournament play has long been a staple at Infinity Park. The RugbyTown 7s tournament features the U.S. Armed Forces. AP Photo by George Walker IV
A shining star on the world stage, Sammy Sullivan — who lived in Glendale — was a key player in the Olympic games, leading the U.S. women’s rugby team to several victories to begin the Paris Olympics.
She plays for the Colorado Gray Wolves, as well as the U.S. women’s rugby team. The team was originally established in 1981 as the Harlequin Olde Girls before aligning with the City of Glendale in 2007 and becoming the Glendale Raptors Merlins. In 2020 the team became an independent club, run and operated by the players. The team still plays at Glendale’s Infinity Park. Sullivan started playing rugby at West Point and holds the rank of Army Captain. She’s originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Sullivan did not attend the opening ceremony ride down the River Seine because women’s rugby played shortly afterward. Instead, she built Legos. Her Olympic Lego project features iconic Paris sites including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
While in France for the Summer Games, Sullivan met first lady Jill Biden and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jayson Kelce and his wife Kylie.
Pro Women’s Rugby
Sammy Shines: Glendale’s Sammy Sullivan was a key player in the Olympic games. She led the U.S. women’s rugby team to several victories to begin the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) has announced that Denver, along with Boston and Chicago, will be the first cities to host a professional women’s rugby team. Goal is to have 30 players on each team when the inaugural season gets underway in the spring of 2025. The announcement coincides with the U.S. winning its first-ever Olympic medal in Paris. The league hopes to have six to eight teams for its inaugural season. Matthew Payne, director of the Denver Sports Commission — an affiliate of the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Visit Denver — responded that the Mile High City is thrilled to be a founding city
“Denver has a lot of history in women’s rugby, and recently they’ve had some success with the Women’s Premier League and have won quite a few of the national championships,” said Jessica Hammond-Graf, president of the WER. “And so, we felt like bringing that energy and the continued history of women’s rugby to the area would just really make sense.” WER has the intention to start with 6-8 teams, and then looks to build toward a strategic expansion plan during the next 10 years. The league’s founding players will be announced following a selection in January.
WER is supported financially by private investors, including members of the rugby community, sports-focused venture capital, and former Procter & Gamble executive Deb Henretta. WER is adding to its roster of investors in its current capital round, which is on track to close by years end. WER prides itself in putting founding teams in markets that have a strong foundation and grassroots efforts in both the rugby and women’s sports. Team names and stadium details for all markets will be announced later.
Childs Play: Children from in and around the Denver metro area participate in rugby sports training programs at Infinity Park.
Colorado History
The nation’s first recorded competitive women’s rugby team hails from Colorado. In 1971, both the University of Colorado and Colorado State University were formed and they played their first match in 1972. The first women’s college championships were also held in Colorado.
During 1973 another Colorado team — the Scarlet Harlots — was organized, followed in 1974 by the Denver Blues. By 1974, there were approximately 29 women’s teams in the U.S. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, women’s rugby continued to grow with a majority of those teams adopting the names of colleges and universities.
Until 1990, very few rosters of women’s collegiate rugby teams were entirely undergraduate students of the university; most college teams were made up of graduate students, alumni, and local residents. Then in 2007, following the opening of Infinity Park in Glendale, tournament rugby has been a staple, with the venue hosting some of the largest and most prestigious competitions in the country.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2024 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
The city’s plans for residential trash, recycling, and compost services still lack strategy and responsiveness to residents, according to the recent follow-up report from Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien.
“We’ve continued to hear from a lot of residents in the past 18 months who have concerns about their trash and recycling pickup, as well as the implementation of composting services,” Auditor O’Brien said. “There’s still work to do to achieve ideals of efficient pickups and environmental benefit.”
The auditor looked at the city’s residential trash, recycling, and compost services ahead of the implementation of the volume-based pricing program in November 2022. They found understaffing, old and unreliable trucks, and lack of strategy for the new program.
The auditor made nine recommendations in the original audit. But during the follow-up work they found the division fully implemented only three of them. Five other recommendations that addressed significant risks were not implemented. And one recommendation related to replacing the city’s aging trucks was partially implemented.
The remaining risks center on strategy, data, and resident satisfaction.
More than 18 months into the volume-based pricing program — which shifts the cost of weekly trash pickup to residents based on how much they throw away but make
s recycling and compost included at no extra charge — the Solid Waste Management Division still lacks a strategic plan that identifies specific objectives, goals, and needs for delivering services to residents.
Managers said plans to develop a strategic plan are ongoing. Division leaders acknowledged the importance of a comprehensive strategy, but still do not have one to guide their day-to-day operations or set long-term goals.
Additionally, key recommendations still need work for tracking data for efficient routes and responsiveness to resident service requests.
The city’s new routing software is intended to collect data like maps of pickup points and monitoring of stops. But the system was neither fully operational at the time of follow-up, nor was the software referenced in the draft procedure on how to adjust collection routes.
And although the division has a dashboard to track operations and metrics like tonnage and route completion, there are still inconsistencies in how it tracks open and closed cases from residents who report missed pickups through 3-1-1 and other platforms. As a result, the division does not have an accurate picture of its response to residents’ service requests.
Similarly, the auditor recommended the division develop a process for annual performance reviews of trash, recycling, and compost services. The department has not yet finalized its review process or created an annual review, nor does it plan to pursue feedback on resident satisfaction through surveys or an analysis of environmental costs.
“The trash, recycling, and compost program is one that impacts almost every person who lives in Denver,” Auditor O’Brien said. “I would like to see more improvement on behalf of the people we serve.”
Without sound data and information, the Solid Waste Management Division cannot make informed decisions that impact the viability of the city’s volume-based pricing program and cannot ensure the fees it collects for residents’ trash pickup will achieve the city’s goal to increase Denver’s waste diversion rate.
One area where the divis
ion did take some action is addressing its aging fleet of trucks. At the time of the audit, nearly half of the vehicles in the division’s fleet were within a couple of years of the end of their estimated remaining life. The average estimated useful life for waste collection trucks is eight years, but the city was still using one truck that was 18 years old.
Since then, staff have worked on options for purchasing or leasing trucks, including plans to lease 25 new trucks every two years. However, they have not actually started leasing new vehicles. Division leaders still do not know if they will be able to replace the fleet due to backlogs and budget cuts.
“Denver’s trucks are old and cost more and more to maintain,” Auditor O’Brien said. “I’m glad to see a plan for replacement, but waiting longer due to budget constraints will likely drain even more of the city’s budget.”
The division did take action to address some of the staffing concerns we identified. In 2022, there was a 21% vacancy rate among drivers. Since then, the division performed a staffing analysis. As of May 2024, staff said 84% of positions are filled.
