Newberry Site Set To Bud On Leetsdale

by Valley Gadfly | Apr 19, 2024 | Main Articles

Location Is Latest Newberry Brothers Growth Spot, As The Florist’s Cherry Creek Greenhouse Plot Flourishes

by Glen Richardson

Greenhouse Growth: These phase-two North Pointe Ten stylish townhomes in Cherry Creek North are where Newberry’s six large greenhouses did business for decades.

Latest On Leetsdale: Rendering of the three-story apartment home with a basement being built on the five-acre Newberry Brothers Florist site at 5231 Leetsdale Drive.

It may have not occurred to you, but gardens and florists are strikingly similar to townhomes and multifamily developments. They attract pollinators or patrons because they are eye-catching, have room to grow, are not too tall, too crowded, or located in the wrong place.

That’s the development strategy being im­plemented for a luxury three-story apartment complex with a basement, about to bud in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood adjacent to both Glendale and Cherry Creek North. The five-acre site is located along Leetsdale Drive east of Forest St. Weldon Newberry started what became Newberry Brothers Florist at the site. His daughter Paula Newberry Arnold, and her son Kien Arnold, sold the parcel to Texas-based multifamily developer Embrey Partners LLC for $9 million. The Newberry business has moved across Leetsdale Dr. to 560 S. Holly St.

Newberry relocated the florist to the Leets­dale site subsequent to selling the Cherry Creek North location where Newberry’s six large greenhouses did business for decades. That corner spot at 2nd Ave. and Garfield Street is where North Pointe Ten is now located. Garfield Development LLC, paid $7.65 million for the North Pointe property. The development’s Phase-One has since sold out. The project’s recently finished Phase-Two — defined as stylish, sophisticated urban residences — is now complete and available for purchase. The 10 four-bedroom, six-bath, attached ­townhomes are being offered for $3.4 million each.

Development Dig: Construction workers dig, blast, and grade former Newberry Brothers Florist site on Leetsdale Drive, where the three-story apartment complex will be built.      Photo: Kevin J. Beaty

Supreme Site

At the time the Leetsdale property was sold, Newberry Brothers Florist described the five-acre site as, “the kind of compact, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood that city officials often propose as the Denver ideal.”

Initially the neighborhood organization — the Preservation of Residential South Hilltop Neighborhood Assn. — was concerned about possible traffic impact and noise. Following negotiations with Newberry Arnold, height restrictions, traffic entry and departure, plus hotels being prohibited, were mutually agreed upon. As a result, neighbors sent messages of support, announcing they, “looked forward to more retail and residential diversity.”

Traffic rumbles and roars along the stretch of Leetsdale Drive where construction workers and excavation equipment are digging, blasting, and grading the property in preparation to build the apartment complex. Behind the property — up the hill to the north — are neighborhood streets with rows of single-family homes. George Washington High School is to the east, and a King Soopers on the west. Another apart-

ment complex sits on the southwest corner of Leetsdale and Forest, plus a multifamily development is just up the street on Forest, behind Inga’s Alpine Tavern.

Striking Setting

New Newberry Digs: The Newberry Brothers business has moved across Leetsdale to 560 S. Holly St. Floral arrangements, event design, and custom work remain the shop’s focus.

The 283 apartment homes will be nestled into the hillside to the north and east, reducing the scale of the building as it relates to the adjacent residential neighborhoods. It is also expected to conceal parking from the public view along Leetsdale Drive.

The property’s unique topographic advantage due to being located on the side of a hill, will create striking views of the Front Range and the south metro skyline for future residents of the apartment complex.

Two internal courtyards are planned as additional amenities. The east edge will be utilized as part of the development’s water quality requirement. The parking structure will be wrapped by apartment units on the west and south sides, providing approximately 395 spaces for residents and guests.

Special Street

Special Spot: Newberry Brothers moved from Cherry Creek North and acquired this center on Leetsdale Drive. The five-acre site is now the florist’s latest development spot.

An enhanced pedestrian corridor or woonerf — a Dutch “living street” urban planning concept — will create a break along Leetsdale Drive. The idea is to promote community with the adjacent neighborhoods, parks, and amenities. The Cherry Creek Trail, Four Mile Historic Park, Creekside Park, Glendale Park (formerly Mir Park), Burns Park, and Crestmoor Park are all accessible within an estimated 10-minute walk. Planned pedestrian-scale improvements adjacent to the complex site along Leetsdale are expected to set the standard for future street improvements to promote walkability on Leetsdale and across the city.

Moreover, the woonerf will create a north-south corridor within the site. In addition, it will offer publicly accessible and highly visible outdoor space. Plaza areas, site furnishings, and pockets of vegetated landscape will soften and screen the outdoor area. The pedestrian area will be further enhanced with a sizable tree lawn. Rows of trees and a landscape buffer between sidewalks and buildings will enhance safety, while adding to streetscape attractiveness. Outdoor spaces will also allow for outdoor gatherings, rec­reation, and seasonal activity.

Additionally, the community’s future res­idents will enjoy private amenities. An indoor fitness center and exterior amenity courtyards are among those being planned.

Site Access

Primary access to the apartment complex from Leetsdale Drive will be at the eastern edge of the property, leading visitors and residents to the leasing center. A drop off area with an associated small surface parking lot will be adjacent. The primary entry to a structured parking garage will be accessible nearby.

A second access point is planned on the west edge of the site, extending along the north. The second point will allow for addi­tional parking access while also providing fire access. The rear of the lot will have setbacks, including a 25-ft. building setback between the Protected District and any new building that might be built on the property. A retaining wall is permitted within the 25-ft. setback. The proposed site plan, however, does not include any retaining walls.

Changes to site design, height, massing, and infrastructure are likely before the apartment complex opens. Completion and opening of the apartment complex is projected for mid-2025.

As Colorado Becomes A One-Party State The Main Parties Fracture

by Charles Bonniwell | Apr 19, 2024 | Main Articles

by Charles Bonniwell

After 2016, Colorado changed from a purple state where members from either party would have a reasonable chance for statewide office to a solid blue state where only Democrats have any chance of being elected. The Democrats also have super majorities in both the State House and Senate.

The one-party state has caused the Democrat and Republican parties to begin to frac­ture into competing factions.

Democrats

Dafna Michaelson Jenet

Tim Hernandez

On the Democrat side, the pro-Palestinian faction has gone after the pro-Israeli and other members with a vengeance. Rep. Elisabeth Epps from Denver, after speaking on the Palestinian issue, joined pro-Palestinian protestors in the House gallery during a special session.

Another Democrat Representative Tim Hernandez said in a post on X that he is “standing in strong solidarity with Coloradans who bravely stood up and disrupted our job for a Ceasefire in Gaza.”

Reps. Iman, Jodeh, Javier Mabry, Andrew Boesenecker, Jennifer Bacon, and Sen. Nick Hinrichsen met with protestors after they were removed from the gallery by House Democrat leadership, which includes Speaker Julie McCluskie, Majority Leader Monica Duran, and Speaker Pro Tem Chris Kennedy.

The Progressive wing of the Democrat Party has always been strongly represented by Jewish members, many of whom now feel alienated from the party.

Nearly 200 Colorado Jewish Democrats, including elected officials, party leaders, and faith leaders wrote an open letter calling for an end to the divisive, dangerous rhetoric and anti semitism they claim has been displayed by some on the pro-Palestinian side.

State Senator Dafna Michaelson Jenet, one of the signers, went so far to ask whether Democrats even wanted to have any Jewish members.

Republicans

Dave Williams

Dick Wadhams

As divided as the Democrats are, the Colorado Republicans are as or more divided between their Grassroots adherents and the so-called Establishment Republicans who have controlled the party for over 40 years.

The two sides have radically different views on why Colorado has become so blue. Establishment Republicans like Dick Wadhams, the unofficial spokesman of Colorado’s richest man and biggest Republican contributor billionaire Phil Anschutz, says it is due to an influx of people flooding from California and Illinois, bringing with them, their liberal values. Moreover, he declares Coloradans, whether Democrat, Republican, or unaffiliated, strongly dislike former President Donald Trump and once Trump is gone from the scene Colorado Republicans will automatically rise back up.

Grassroot Republicans note that Establishment Republicans like Wadhams have been in charge of the party for over 40 years and have been the ones who have directed the party during its precipitous decline. They note that Trump went from losing in Colorado by only four points in 2016 to 14 points in 2020.

Trump, they indicate was no less popular or unpopular from 2016 to 2020. Grassroots Republicans say the difference between the two elections was the advent of mass ballot harvesting with all mail balloting. Wadhams and his Establishment friends are widely hated by two-thirds of the Republicans.

While the Grassroots represent a large majority of Republicans, they are totally unrepresented in the Colorado media. The left-wing media, includingThe Denver Post, Colorado Sun, Boulder Camera, Greeley Tribune, and Colorado Times Recorder greatly prefer Democrats and trash Grassroots Republicans in favor of Establishment Republications every time.

Pro Republican media in Colorado is controlled by one man, billionaire Phil Anschutz. Until now he has successfully hidden his overriding role by using a myriad of organizations. He controls, or is thought to control, among others, the Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Gazette, Colorado Politics, Independence Institute, Complete Colorado, Caucus Room, and Advance Colorado.

Philip Anschutz

Anschutz, like many other billionaires, has moved leftward, or the party itself has moved to the populist right. As a Bush era Republican, he feels alienated by the Trump dominated Republican Party and personally it is said detests Trump and his adherents. Most Grassroots Republicans support Trump and thus the Anschutz publications are constantly attacking Grassroots Republicans. The leftwing and Anschutz media and what they represent are called by the Grassroots the “Uni Party.”

The Grassroots, in the Spring of 2023 pulled off a political upset and took over the Republican Party, electing a slate of Grassroots Republicans, and in particular Dave Williams as Party Chairman.

Since Williams’ election the leftwing and Anschutz media have been unrelentingly attacking Williams.

However, Donald Trump, has ridden to Williams’ aid within the Colorado Republican Party by declaring on Truth Social that Williams “is under Fake News assault because he is doing such a strong job as an advocate for MAGA.”

Local radio used to be a source for pro Trump support but among local radio show hosts all but RNC Committeeman ­Randy Corporon have become Establishment. 710KNUS shoved Corporan to the least desirable radio time — Saturday nights.

Among websites there is one that is driving Establishment Republicans crazy and that is RINO Watch Colorado. Its “take no prisoners” style has made it beloved by Grassroots Republications and hated by leftwing and Anschutz media.

What Is To Come?

Will the parties begin to split up? If there is any lesson from history, it is that when one faction gains total control new groups arise to challenge its hegemony.