Esquire Theatre Going Dark

by Valley Gadfly | Dec 15, 2023 | Main Articles

Dodging Wrecking Ball, Building Will Be Enlarged And Reshaped; Will The Remodel Preserve A Picture Of Denver’s Movie Theatre Past?

by Glen Richardson

The Last Picture Show: As times changed, along with tastes in entertainment, theatre building will be turned into restaurant, retail, and office space.

Swapping Size, Shape: The Esquire Theatre building will be enlarged and reconfigured. Landmark Preservation Commission must approve building’s reconstruction.

Are you ready to feel a little down, despondent, and dejected? Flicks are being flicked off at Cap Hill’s historic Esquire Theatre. Lessee Land­mark Theatres reopened the site last June following water damage de­claring, “We’re back… and better than ever!” The lease expires in July of this year (2024), evidently without a renewal option.

The building was purchased by Sam Leger and Tim Finholm of South Broadway-based Unique Properties for $2.1 million in 2021. At the time of purchase, Finholm implied that “what happens with the property will de­pend on whether Landmark wants to stay.” It’s unclear, however, if shuttering the theatre was Landmark’s choice or a joint decision. Regardless, Unique Properties CEO Leger and Executive VP Finholm are listed on the building’s application for conversion.

Nestled on the corner of 6th Ave. and Downing St., the cinema has long been a neighborhood and Capitol Hill staple. Since opening in the fall of 1927 as the single-screen Hiawatha Theatre, the Esquire ex­panded and withstood the test of time. It has been leased to Landmark since 1980. Landmark also operates Denver’s Mayan, Chez Artiste, and Landmark Greenwood Village theatres. Once controlled by billionaire Mark Cuban, the theater chain sold to Cohen Media Group in 2018.

Shock, Sadness

The tucked-away Downing St location made the Esquire uniquely popular and a Mile High City cultural icon. In a city that once boasted as many as 66 movie theaters, it has long been known as one of Denver’s historic movie palaces.

Within hours followin

Sign Signals Switch: Plans suggest the Esquire Theatre marquee sign will remain on the remodeled structure as homage to the theatre and building’s history.

g the closure announcement Cap Hill residents and Esquire admirers took to social media to express their shock, sadness, and dismay: “I will be so heartbroken if we lose this. The Esquire is such an important part of Denver, of the film culture here.” Further, added another: “I know change is inevitable, but I wonder what will fill the void of these type of micro-communities that existed in the real, non-internet, world.”

Others summed up loss of the irreplaceable experience thusly: “It’s so sad watching so much of Denver die one piece at a time. Let’s just murder everything about Denver that was cool and make us a cookie cutter, mixed-use city.”

Building To Stay

The two-story building that housed the Esquire, however, will endure. The site will be enlarged and reshaped into a mix of res­taurant, retail, and office space. Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission must ap­­prove reconstruction of the building. If it is approved, the project is expected to start this June and be completed by January 2025.

The public became aware of the theatre closing at the end of last October when Denver’s Department of Community Planning & Development received redevelopment plans for the theater property.

Those plans, submitted by Michael Noda — a partner at architectural firm Neo Studio located on Walnut St. in Denver — call for increasing the two-story, 9,175-sq.-ft. theater building by more than a 6,000-sq.-ft. An addition on the south end of the building would stretch the structure into the parking lot.

Change, Sign Stays

If approved, the building is expected to total 15,800-sq.-ft. on the property’s 0.39-acre lot. Documents indicate the first floor will be divided into two 3,675-sq.-ft. units, one for retail, the other a restaurant space. The upstairs would be turned into office suites.

Plans for the building’s renewal include the addition of several small structure components. Site plans indicate new entrances will be constructed on the no

Historic Hiawatha: Photograph of the Esquire building at the 1927 grand opening as the Hiawatha Theatre. Winners of the Wilderness was showing on the single-screen.

rth and south sides of the building. More: Skylights will be installed on the roof, plus awnings added on the north side of the building.

One thing, however, will apparently remain the same. Plans indicate the current Esquire signage will remain as homage to the theatre and building’s history.

Poignant Predictions

Can the Esquire building recover from a remodel? Repurposing of existing buildings is a newsworthy issue, particularly with Denver’s rich architectural heritage.

“Architecture is not really about ­buildings, any more than poetry is about vowels,” is how award-winning architect Sam Rodell ex­plains the emotions associated with build­ings.

Denver’s Esquire enthusiasts relate to Rodell’s emotional building claim, and share their thoughts about the proposed remake of the movie palace building: “It

Going, Going, Gone: Movies at the Esquire Theatre have been good to the end, but functional and technical obsolescence will turn the building dark this year.

would have been good to end up with a theater use and the parking lot redeveloped with a new restaurant and housing. But two-screen theaters are clearly not profitable, especially with the Mayan so close showing the same kind of program. Admits another, “Having an active street front rather than a blank wall on 6th Ave. will help the area feel more like a neighborhood.”

Conversion Countdown

The Esquire building is a connection between the past and present, and a way to preserve local memory and culture. It was a space where we created memories of time spent with family and friends in the dark watching films that are no longer with us. The structure was a witness to another age and hopefully will become a living example of Denver’s movie theatre past.

So as not to lose the memory of what came before, Neo Studio — the architectural firm remodeling the Esquire building — is being called upon to adapt the existing building to meet new needs. It will require a great deal of creative effort, and local feedback since the project involves changing the entire function of the building.

As with any renovation, uncertainty, surprises, and last-minute changes are possible if not probable. Capitol Hill and Denver residents, plus Esquire fans and movie buffs are holding their breath, waiting anxiously and excitedly to see what materializes.

Esquire Draws Signatures; Owners Reapply For Remodel

An online petition had collected more than 2,500 signatures to save the Esquire Theatre by early December @savethe esquire. Seeking to stop site redevelopment, the group hopes the theatre will be designated a historic landmark.

Denver’s Community Planning & Development disclosed in December that they were awaiting resubmittal of the plans due “to issues” with the original proposal. When questioned about plans to stretch construction into the parking lot, owners retorted: “We don’t have plans to do anything to anything at the moment. We just made a submittal.”

Should the theatre get a landmark designation, the Landmark Preservation staff opinion is that, “the theatre could still be developed for uses other than a theater.”

Where The Sidewalk Story Ends…

by Heather Brecl | Dec 15, 2023 | Main Articles

by Heather Brecl

Homeowners on corner lots in Denver will pay up to $350 per year more than most.

In case 2023 didn’t have enough in store for everyone, 2024 is on the path to deliver more. In November 2022 Denver voters narrowly passed a new citizen-led ballot in­itiative called Ordinance 307 resulting in an annual fee for sidewalk construction that is coming due in the new year. Homeowners in the city of Denver will have to get ready to add one more bill to the list of things to deal with as a homeowner. On top of the tripled property tax and now the bill for trash removal, residents of Denver will be assessed a new fee that was designed to fund a complete overhaul of the sidewalk system throughout the city. This initiative was spearheaded by the nonprofit organization called Denver Streets Partnership.

Whether or not homeowners actually have a sidewalk, they will be paying a fee to the City for the project for at least the next 10 years.

How much is the fee and how can residents figure out what it will be? The city of Denver created a tool that provided an estimate for homeowners. On average the fee will be around $108/year per household, however if a home is positioned on a street corner, the fee will in some cases be as high as $450 per year. Since the fee is assessed according to the linear footage that a property has along a city street, the longer the property boundary, the higher the fee will be. Unfortunately for residents trying to forecast expenses for the upcoming year, the pricing tool has been taken down from the Denver County website and the following notice is in place: “The city’s sidewalk task force is reviewing the sidewalk ordinance and may refine the current fee structure to ensure it is applied in a way that is as fair and reasonable as possible. DOTI (Department of Transportation and Infrastructure) has removed the sidewalk fee lookup tool it previously offered on this webpage while that assessment is underway.” The task force is scheduled to complete their evaluation by

July and levy the fees.

Denver resident Erin F. (last name withheld at her request) is outraged by the new sidewalk fee which for her will be over $450 per year since her home has what is now seen by her as the misfortune of being on a corner lot. Prior to the sidewalk tax, Erin appreciated her large lot that she and her son have enjoyed for years. She also takes on the responsibility of making sure that the sidewalk is always shoveled, even shoveling her elderly neighbor’s sidewalk during snowstorms. Even though Denver residents do not own actually own the sidewalk, it has been their responsibility to make sure it is cleared of snow in the required amount of time and that repairs done as needed.

With the new fee structure, the responsibility for sidewalk repairs and improvements shifts to the City of Denver. While this seems to lessen the burden of homeowners having to do expensive repairs themselves, many homeowners will in effect just be paying a sometimes exorbitant fee for sidewalks that may not ever need any repairs in their lifetime. It also leaves to question what the actual process will be to have any needed repairs done with no reasonable sense for a timeline as the process will be new from start to finish and will encompass the entire sidewalk network.

To Erin F. and many other homeowners, the new sidewalk fee seems anything but fair. “The new fee is a huge burden to people, on top of everything else that we have on our plates with a big increase in property taxes and now having to pay for trash too,” said Erin F. “People are going to lose their homes over this. I have no control over who uses my sidewalk but now suddenly I’m responsible for paying more than any of my neighbors to maintain it even though it was recently repaired and is in perfect condition. I don’t understand how anything about this fee is fair and equitable as the Denver Streets Partnership claims it is.”

Erin wants to know how the city plans on dealing with situations in which the homeowner is unable to afford the fee and if there will be any relief. She said that she has issued multiple complaints with the Partnership but has not gotten specific answers to her questions, and that the current policy only offers relief to certain neighborhoods.

Executive Director Jill Locantore of the organization that spearheaded the sidewalk effort responded to questions and concerns about the inequities of the assessed fee stating that “fair is a matter of opinion and per­spective.” She explained that Denver has had an ongoing conversation for the past 20 years since the Webb administration about improving the sidewalk situation and the residents of Denver have spoken by voting for the ordinance. Locantore emphasized that the majority of Denver’s citizens voted to have safe sidewalks and it is her organization’s commitment to fulfill that mission, making sure that people have a safe way to walk through their neighborhoods and move about their communities. The City’s stakeholder committee is currently review­ing ways to tighten up the differences between the average fees assessed and the “out­liers” such as those who own properties on long sidewalks and corners. She stated that they cannot make everyone happy but are making concerted efforts to make as many people happy as possible.

Overall, the Partnership, in conjunction with the City of Denver, estimates that a complete overhaul of the sidewalk system will cost upwards of $1 billion and will take up to 10 years to complete. Annually the fees will total approximately $40 million which is how much DOTI believes to be the cost of yearly maintenance. The additional funds will be raised from bonds.

Erin F. remarked that she will most likely never see any immediate benefit to the thousands of dollars in sidewalk fees that she will pay over the coming years as her sidewalk was just recently redone. On average, homeowners sell their homes after seven years which means that most will be in the same situation as Erin and will contribute to the sidewalk fund without ever directly reaping the benefits.

Homeowners may think that they will avoid being assessed the fee if there is no sidewalk but they are mistaken. The fee applies to all properties bordering a city street — whether or not a sidewalk actually exists. As is stated on the denvergov.org website, “(T)he requirement to pay the sidewalk fee is not dependent upon having a sidewalk or whether or not a property owner has recently completed installation or repairs. The fee is a revenue source to fund maintenance and repair projects and new sidewalk installations to connect people to places and services citywide.”

Furthermore, homeowners who think they refuse to pay the fee or cannot pay, will have a lien placed on their properties and the city will not be issuing any refunds or exemptions. Locantore did point out that certain discounts will be offered in the amount of 20% for real estate property located in neighborhoods which have been historically underfunded and are considered area of risk under the city’s NEST (Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization) program.

As a single mom who struggles to make ends meet, Erin F. hopes that the efforts of the City’s stakeholder committee gives earnest consideration to the concerns she has and others in the same boat.

For more information on the impending sidewalk fees, go to denversidewalks.com and devergov.org and look for Sidewalk Construction, Reconstruction and Repair.