by Mark Smiley | Feb 29, 2016 | Glendale City News
by John Arthur
Writer for and on behalf of the City of Glendale
Beginning in April 2016, the Glendale Raptors Youth Rugby programs will transition to the new, more comprehensive Glendale Raptors Rugby Academy. Offering a variety of formats suitable for youth interest at all participation levels, the new program will work not only to promote rugby as a challenging, enjoyable means of pursuing personal growth, but will also provide participants a pathway to becoming players at an elite level.
To highlight the transition, Coach of the Glendale Raptors High School team Robin Roberts spoke about one of the most promising young players in rugby, Gemma Ryu. A high school sophomore playing on the Raptors 7s team, Gemma is a standout not only for her on-field performance, but also for her dedication off the field, as well as her discipline as a multi-sport athlete. Coach Roberts describes Ryu as “very dedicated to learning and improving at all levels. She has a very real passion for the sport and wants to play at the highest level she can.” In the fall season of 2015, Gemma led the 7s team in tackles, tries scored, and in creating turnovers.
Gemma’s dedication has not escaped notice. She has been announced as part of the Girls High School All American pool for 2016. To further improve her skills, Gemma is also in the process of trying out for the Flatirons Rugby Academy Team. The elite, performance and development based squad employs rugby to build life experiences and opportunities, whether at the collegiate, national, international, or Olympic level. In the first round of tryouts Gemma was in the top three for the 20 and 40 meter runs, and scored second highest in the Yo-Yo Test, a test designed to determine the physical endurance of athletes. Though teams have yet to be announced, Coach Roberts reports she is on track to make the A-side squad. Additionally, Gemma is participating in a lifting program with the Glendale coach, improving her back squat and nearly doubling her personal best bench press in just four weeks of training.
Though the power of the Raptors youth programs should not be underestimated, the commitment of athletes like Ryu is beyond compare. Her rugby accomplishments are legion, but the Colorado Academy sophomore is also a member of the school’s swim and track teams, as well as an aspiring triathlete. Outside of sport, she is a member of the school choir and an accomplished pianist. Originally from Chicago, Ryu’s experiences with the landscapes of the Midwest and Colorado have encouraged her to attend a coastal university, though as a sophomore she admits she hasn’t spent much time looking at specific schools. One thing she knows for sure — she wants to attend a college with a great 7s program. Even as a young athlete, Gemma’s outlook on the hard work required to excel is decidedly mature: “One thing I’ve learned from playing for Glendale and being around WPL and PRP champions is that success is never accidental. Seeing how hard all of these players work and all of the time they commit, I know if I want success for my team, I’ll have to do the same.”
Ryu’s success as part of the Glendale Raptors program is phenomenal, but not an anomaly. Two recent graduates, Caitlin Rogers and Grace Chao, have realized considerable achievement in rugby after moving on from the program, highlighting the invaluable foundation the Glendale experience offers.
Rogers, a freshman at Colby University in Maine, is a multi-position player for the school’s Division II rugby team. “In our past season, I became a starting lock, and Colby took third in the NESCRC (New England Small College Rugby Conference). At the end of the season, I was elected Vice President of the Colby Women’s Rugby Football Club, and now we’re practicing for our spring season, which will incorporate both 7s and 15.”
Chao, a former top try scorer and captain of the Glendale squad, attends Harvard University, where she plays alongside another former Glendale High School rugby teammate Maya Learned. Reflecting on her first season of collegiate play and her experience with Coach Roberts and the Raptors, Chao said, “I know for sure I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without Robin, and this season has helped me realize what an amazing opportunity I had with the program at Glendale.”
Asked to reflect on her experience with the Raptors program, and with the accomplished athletes it has produced, Coach Robin Roberts was full of praise. “These girls all inspire me to work harder and do better to be the best coach I can for them. All I hope is that I somehow make a difference, however slight, in their lives and rugby.” If the success of Gemma Ryu and the Raptors alumni that have preceded her are any indication of the proficiency of the youth rugby programs, the forthcoming Glendale Raptors Rugby Academy, and its participants, will flourish.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 29, 2016 | Main Articles
Want Massive High-Rise Condo Building Right On Cherry Creek, Could Be Tallest Building In State
by Charles C. Bonniwell
The dark rumors that M.A.K. Investment Group, headed by Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi, its registered agent and part owner, wants to build a massive super high density high-rise on only 3.8 acres of developable land it owns in Glendale along Cherry Creek, have proven to be true.
M.A.K. owns and runs the Authentic Persian and Oriental Rugs, located at 550 South Colorado Boulevard, and have tried to present themselves to the media as small business people being threatened by the City of Glendale by condemnation, notwithstanding the fact that the city has consistently stated it has no plans to use eminent domain regarding the property.
M.A.K.’s Real Plans
It has been surmised by some that M.A.K. was really attempting to intimidate the city and its elected officials into waiving all of its zoning and Master Plan limitations along Cherry Creek in order to allow a super high density development which would bring the highest possible price for the land for M.A.K.
Kheirkhahi and M.A.K. have brought lawsuits in state and federal court against the city with some of the state claims having already been dismissed by the courts. They have hired one of the largest and most expensive law firms in the country, Kirkland and Ellis, to bring a federal court action in order to nullify Glendale and the state’s urban renewal statutes.
The firm has a well-known reputation for its work in cases that go to trial. Kirkland and Ellis was the primary outside law firm representing oil giant BP in litigation regarding the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rare Inside View
Seldom does the public get to see the inner workings of wealthy developers obtaining or trying to obtain super high density projects that appear to violate a city’s zoning and master plans. Meetings prior to the filing of a site plan are not public. Moreover, until a “site plan” has been submitted to a city, developers are allowed to lobby public officials in favor of a project while the public is often in the dark about even the existence of a proposed project. After getting tentative oral approval for a project, developers file the “site plan” which makes the project “quasi-judicial” in nature and elected officials can then assert that they are prohibited from talking to members of the public or anyone else about the proposed project.
But because the M.A.K. and Mohammad Ali Kheirkhahi are in litigation with the City of Glendale, the pre-site plan meeting held was openly recorded which made the recording a public record. The Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle, pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, demanded and received a copy of the recording. Experts are calling the information in the recording “unprecedented” and “extraordinary.”
M.A.K. Team
M.A.K. brought some of the highest priced and most influential advisors in Colorado to the meeting. Leading the group was Dana Crawford, best known for being the developer of Larimer Square in downtown Denver. Also on the team was David Tryba, the principal of Tryba Architects the Denver based architecture, planning and urban design firm most recently involved with the downtown Union Station development. Tryba along with his wife, were the recipients of the 2012 “Dana Crawford Award” from Colorado Preservation, Inc.
Also heading up the advisory team was Chris Shears of the planning and designing firm Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects. Perhaps demonstrating how incestuous such a meeting can be, Shears co-wrote Glendale’s latest Master Plan whose limitations Kheirkhahi and M.A.K. are now seeking to evade.
Rounding out the team was Bill James, RTD Director for District A, which includes Glendale and Cherry Creek, as well as being the Chair of RTD’s Planning and Development Committee. James has his own real estate brokerage and investment advisory firm in Denver called James Real Estate Services, Inc. Kheirkhahi brought along his sister-in-law Nasrin Kholghy who is also a principal in M.A.K.
Attending the meeting on behalf of the City of Glendale were Co-Deputy City Managers Chuck Line and Linda Cassaday as well as Police Captain Mike Gross who is the project head for Glendale 180, the city’s proposed entertainment development district along Cherry Creek.
Pursuant to the Glendale Master Plan, co-written by Shears, the height limit along Cherry Creek is 45 feet. Since the 1980s Glendale has prohibited residential development along the East Virginia side of Cherry Creek as being incongruous with a boisterous late night entertainment district.
Crawford Lead Speaker
Crawford was the primary spokesperson for the M.A.K. team and it did not take long for her to drop the hammer. She indicated that her and M.A.K.’s inspiration came from places like Tehran, Iran, and Austin, Texas, as well as Dallas, Vancouver and Las Vegas. She passed around pictures of massive luxury condominium developments which appeared to be similar to places such as the 56-story Tehran International Tower in downtown Tehran, Iran, the 56-story Austonian in Austin, Texas, and the under construction 58-story Independent also in Austin.
All buildings appeared to be equal to or exceed the tallest building in the six state region, the Republic Plaza Building in downtown Denver, which is 56 floors.
Crawford expressed her admiration for condo developers as “people with very big bucks and willing to take big risks are doing condos.” Crawford went on to declare that if we wanted to double metropolitan Denver population “we’re going to have to get over our hysteria about high-rise buildings because Denver just, you know, the neighborhoods just get bonkers over the subject.”
She then proceeded to declare that the Glendale location would be good because it is “smarter than Denver is and also because of the location to be able to do things that are not going to get people hysterical about blocking their views …”
She also went on to declare that the building “could be just sensational and observable from almost the whole metropolitan area.” Given that the M.A.K. property is at the creek level, the proposed building would probably need to be in excess of 60 stories to meet this criteria. Crawford also indicated her belief that people today want a safe community and “the safest place in the United States right now is the island of Manhattan [New York City] interestingly enough.”
Crawford’s “Special Sugar”
Crawford also added “there is, you know there’s some sugar in it, a special sugar in it for the community … taking care of some that need a little extra care.” In talking with city officials, who exactly was going to be getting the “special sugar?” How was it going to be distributed and by whom were unclear but the implications were potentially highly disturbing.
RTD Director Bill James seconded Crawford’s belief that Glendale, as a separate jurisdiction, surrounded by and in the middle of Denver, was a real benefit as this massive density would be “something easier to get away with in this environment …”
James went on to declare, apparently relating to the fact that such a massive residential building right on Colorado Boulevard would potentially create enormous traffic jams during rush hours, that people have “been sort of seduced by the car — we’re moving away from that.”
David Tryba brought forth how such mass density “leverages the value of the land” and how much money this type of project could bring to the pockets of M.A.K. as well as Kheirkhahi and the Kholghys. He stated that “just a few short years ago Dana and others were buying properties for between $1 and $5 a square foot and now the property values around those spaces are $500 to $750 a square foot.”
M.A.K. bought its Glendale property in 2007 for $6.5 million or $39 per developable foot. At $750 per developable square foot the property would be worth over $124 million. He also emphasized he and Dana had worked together on projects and what they liked about Glendale was that they were “frankly interested in having more flexibility than they could have in Denver in terms of being able to go vertically.”
Shears, the former Glendale consultant and co-author of its Master Plan which limited “verticality” brought the presentation to an end emphasizing what a “great idea” Crawford had come up with and that it was worth “proceeding with a conversation to see if it’s possible. We certainly hope.”
Nasrin Kholghy concurred, apparently keeping in mind Tryba’s economic analysis, “I was hoping we could take advantage of her vision and create something wonderful. So I’m still hopeful.”
City’s Response
It was clear that M.A.K. was hoping that its lawsuits, the constant efforts to create bad publicity for the city and its administration, along with efforts by “investigative blogger” Jeanne Price to dig up dirt on the city and staff with constant open records requests, that the city would have been softened up for the general proposal which some in the city would later nickname the “Tehranian Death Star.”
If M.A.K.’s scorched earth tactics had intimidated the elected officials it was not reflected by the remarks of the staff to the M.A.K. participants in the meeting.
Deputy City Manager Chuck Line pointed out that Glendale already had “the highest residential density in the state,” and Deputy City Manager Linda Cassaday added that Glendale was also “surrounded by density.”
Tryba appeared incredulous to the staff statements and demanded to know “would you be open to a further discussion about encouraging more verticality and integration of use and more energy and more of higher density?”
Line indicated t
hat “there are no current plans to revisit those parts of our zoning code” and Cassaday pointed out the M.A.K.’s property was “not zoned for that [high density residential] but that “other areas within the city that are zoned for residential but that area is not.”
M.A.K. Team Not Pleased
Crawford was clearly not pleased stating “most of the communities that I’ve worked with there has been from a staff perspective an expression of flexibility.” She then demanded, “Is there any attitude of flexibility?”
Line reminded Crawford that M.A.K. and the city were in litigation which could not be discussed and would have to wind through the court system before it would even be proper to examine “if we have any flexibility or not.”
The response was clearly not what M.A.K. and Kheirkhahi wanted. Days after the meeting, Jeanne Price was back at the city with voluminous open records requests clearly digging once again for information that could be used against the city and its employees and elected officials in Team M.A.K.’s demand for the so-called “Tehranian Death Star.” Negotiations were over for M.A.K. and the scorched earth policy had been fully re-instituted.
by Mark Smiley | Feb 29, 2016 | Main Articles
by Megan Carthel
Jack Barton, founder of Kacey Fine Furniture, is proving you’re never too old to start over. The 92-year-old successful businessman is now a stand-up comedian.
Barton was Governor Hickenlooper’s landlord when Hickenlooper first opened Wynkoop Brewing Co. in lower downtown Denver in 1988. Before Hickenlooper turned the brick building into Denver’s first brewpub, it had been a warehouse for Kacey Fine Furniture. Barton became Hickenlooper’s landlord and equity participant in Wynkoop Brewing Co.
Barton has always been a Denver man, growing up on the west side, and graduating from West High School. Later he attended college at D.U. Barton sold insurance for one year before he spotted a business opportunity he couldn’t pass up — furniture. Barton said he saw no “brain surgeons” in the furniture business, so he opened up his own store in in 1948 which grew to five locations. One of his daughters, Leslie Fishbein, joined the business in the mid-1970s after graduating from the University of Colorado. She was president of Kacey Fine Furniture when she tragically died in 2008.
But out of all of Barton’s accomplishments, comedy is his true passion. “I should have done this years ago,” Barton said.
Now, Barton is proving you’re never too old to start over. “My friends ask me why I’m doing this, and I said to them, ‘you know it’s like putting your penis in a fan, but this is more painful,’” Jack said starting off his set at Noonan’s Sports Bar and Grill in Aurora.
Jack’s journey to comedy has been a life-long one. Comedy and a lovingly sarcastic humor has always played a role in his and his family’s lives. In fact, comedy is a family affair. His daughter, Terri Barton Gregg, is also a stand-up comedian. So when Barton Gregg’s dad decided he wanted to be a comedian, she encouraged him to chase his life-long dream.
“I said if it’s on your bucket list, you better take it off pretty fast,” Barton Gregg said.
Pulling from his recent experiences and adventures, Jack writes all of his own jokes and material — recalling them effortlessly and confidently on stage. “It seems like magic,” Barton said. “All of a sudden you’re there and the crowd is out there and you become very calm. And the thing is, you hate to give up the mic. You want to be there all the time.”
And, Barton does want to be on the stage all the time, occasionally doubling his stage time, but no one minds. Barton’s set is not only engaging and seriously funny, it’s also very apparent he’s having fun — a contagious smile and spirit that adds to his show and radiates through the audience. His material is original, comparatively clean and classic. Barton first debuted his stand-up comedy
in November 2015, close to a year after having two brain surgeries. It’s obvious Barton has lived his life to the fullest, and with that, amassed wisdom.
“If you can’t laugh at something, really you’re a very sad person. You have to be able to laugh at yourself,” Barton said. Barton often pokes fun at himself during his sets, but never at the audience. He said he doesn’t like to go for the “shock treatment” that some comedians use to get the audience’s attention. Instead, Barton’s cool demeanor, quick wit and smart presentation grab the audience. He’s even gotten four standing ovations in 11 shows. Comedy, Barton said, has always been his hidden talent.
“Most my life I’ve been able to convince somebody with humor,” Barton said.
Barton’s wife, Shirley, is a little shyer than her comical family members, but she is a regular at both Barton and Barton Gregg’s shows. She said she won’t be joining her husband on stage anytime soon, and not only fully supports his decision to be a comedian, she’s thrilled about it. “I think it’s wonderful. I think a person who can find himself a second time is really lucky,” added Shirley.
Shirley isn’t the only one who thinks what Barton is doing is wonderful. Fellow comedian Brent Gill thinks Barton is pretty awesome. “It’s the best thing you could ever see,” Gill said. “He crushed it.”
Gill describes Barton’s style of comedy as the classic and great old-school one-liners. “He comes from a different era of life and a different era of what he finds funny and what comedy is to him,” Gill said. “It’s fun to see that again. It’s like a throwback to old school comedy.”
But comedy, to its core, never gets old according to Barton. Funny is still funny, and after all, old is a relative term and age just a number. Barton Gregg said her dad truly has found his purpose, something that everyone needs.
And who is Barton’s favorite comedian? His daughter, Barton Gregg. To that, she said, “He’s my favorite dad.”
