Planned 2019 Test Flight To Hit Speeds Of 1,688 MPH;
Denver Co-Founders Raise $150 Million For Start-Up Firm
Future Boom Operator: Japan Airlines has invested $10 million in Boom and was given a special tour of the Denver headquarters. The airline has pre-ordered 20 aircraft and got a peek at the XB-1.
The XB-1 aircraft dubbed Baby Boom — a one-third-scale
supersonic demonstrator — being built by Denver-based Boom Supersonic plans its
first test flight later this year. Designed to reach speeds of up to 1,688
miles per hour or twice the speed of sound, it is the prototype for a
commercial 55-passenger plane with a range of 5,180 miles to be introduced by
2023.
Co-founded by Denverites Blake Scholl and Josh Krall in
2014, the firm had raised $151 million by January of this year. Among the
startup investors were several venture funds that kicked in $33 million in
March 2017. In December 2017 Japan Airlines invested another $10 million,
enough to build the XB-1 “Baby Boom.” Then in January Boom Supersonic was given
another $100 million by Apple founder Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs.
Supersonic Building Boom: Co-founded by Denverites Blake Scholl and Josh Krall in 2014, Boom Supersonic plans a test flight of the XB-1 aircraft dubbed Baby Boom this year.
Comfortably Close: The 55-seat plane named the Boom Overture will be able to fly from New York to London, Paris to Montreal, and Madrid to Boston in under four hours or less than half the time of conventional jets.
Boom says its aircraft — with a price estimate of $200
million — will produce a sonic boom at least 30 times quieter than the
Concorde, which was also dogged by high operating costs and fuel consumption
plus low capacity utilization. Boom estimates that fares for its aircraft will
be 75% lower than the Concorde and comparable to current business class
tickets, due to better fuel efficiency.
Pre-Orders Booming
Boom has 76 pre-orders for the 55-seat plane. The first
commercial airline to back the venture with investments was British airline
Virgin Atlantic that has options for 10 of the new aircraft. They made the deal
14 years after the final flight of the Concorde. In addition Japan Airlines has
the option to purchase up to 20 Boom aircraft and will assist efforts to hone
the aircraft’s design and passenger experience, according to the companies.
Called the Boom Overture, the 55-seat plane will be able to
fly from New York to London, Paris to Montreal, and Madrid to Boston in under
four hours — less than half the time of conventional jets. Although the plane will
have fewer than half the seats of a Concorde, company officials say it will
have a much better range — a staggering 5,180 miles.
The supersonic jet will also be more economical, and its
sonic boom will be “at least 30 times quieter” than Concorde, the company
claims. They also say that when it comes to landing and take-off: “Overture
will be as quiet as the subsonic aircraft flying similar routes today.”
Mach 2.2 Speed
The firm says its jetliner — expected to enter service by
the mid 2020s — will fly at speeds of Mach 2.2, 10% faster than the
British-French joint venture Concorde, which popularized supersonic jet travel
in the 1970s.
With 500 viable routes, there could be a market for 1,000
supersonic airliners with business class fares. It expects to keep the delta
wing configuration of the Concorde but would be built with composite materials.
It would be powered by three dry 15,000 20,000 lbf (67-89 kN) turbofans; a
derivative or a clean sheet design will be selected in 2019.
General Electric Co., Honeywell International Inc. and
Netherlands-based TenCate Advanced Composites are among suppliers for the
Denver firm’s supersonic jets.
Accessible Planet
The Denver-based company was founded for the express purpose
of making our planet dramatically more accessible. “We are taking proven
science and engineering and using it to build a Mach-2.2 airliner that will
kick off the supersonic era. And we are making the company a place where the
best people on the planet can be inspired and enabled to do the best and most
meaningful work of their careers,” says Founder-CEO Blake Scholl.
Blake’s Baby: Making high-speed travel mainstream is why Blake Scholl, who lives in Denver and is the father of three, founded Boom Supersonic.
Speed isn’t about going really fast Scholl says, “It’s about
closeness. It’s about making far-away places feel like they’re right around the
corner.” His point: Some people say that speed makes the world smaller. But at
Mach 2.2, the planet is as big as ever. Life is bigger when it is experienced
in person — with supersonic speeds, we’ll all experience a bigger world than
ever before.
Over long distances people don’t think in miles and kilometers.
They think in hours,” the CEO clarifies. He explains it this way: Crossing the
U.S. takes about five hours. Going from New York to Dubai takes about 14. Speed
isn’t about going really fast. It’s about closeness. It’s about making far away
places feel like they’re right around the corner. If we can fly twice as fast,
the world becomes twice as small, turning far off lands into familiar
neighbors.
Founding Trio
Making high-speed travel mainstream is exactly why Scholl
who lives in Denver and is the father of three founded Boom Supersonic. With a
BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon, he has held leadership roles at
Amazon and Groupon and co-founded mobile technology startup Kima Labs that was
acquired by Groupon in 2012.
Engineering Change: The first go of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 engines on a U.S. Air Force Academy test cell ran to 95% of power.
Sitting at the intersection of engineering, design, and marketing, Josh Krall — who also lives here — co-founded Boom with Scholl. He also attended Carnegie Mellon and has an MBA-MPP from Chicago Booth. Co-founder of two startups, his technical work includes owning multidisciplinary design automation software used for conceptual and preliminary aircraft design. He is leading Boom’s efforts to re-imagine the experience of flying and to craft the company’s brand.
Andy Cipra is the third member of the Boom team. He served
as head of marketing at Denver’s Dish Network where he created partnerships
with Southwest Airlines, Apple and Netflix. Most recently he was Chief
Marketing-Commercial Officer for several start-ups in the healthcare and
technology space. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue and an
MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Investigative couple, Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn and his wife, uncovered evidence that put the brakes on Denver’s plans to install more controversial red-light cameras at city intersections. “We’re such a fun couple,” he quips about their recent “investigative date night.”
Councilman Investigates: Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter who used his investigative skills to turn up new evidence raising questions about plans to expand the red light camera program.
Last month, the Denver City Council was poised to spend $1.2 million on a plan to expand its red-light camera program. It first launched in 2008 and the city sends tickets to drivers who go through a red light or stop in the crosswalk at those intersections. Currently there are red-light cameras at four Denver intersections: West 8th Avenue and Speer Blvd, Quebec Street and East 36th Avenue, 6th Avenue and Kalamath and East 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street. The new proposal would have moved the 6th and Lincoln camera to Alameda Avenue and Santa Fe and added two new red-light cameras at 13th Avenue and Lincoln and 18th Avenue and Lincoln.
Flynn is an award-winning former reporter with the Rocky Mountain News and was the transportation reporter when Denver first installed the red-light cameras more than a decade ago.
He and his wife armed with a stopwatch app and phone camera discovered that the timing of the yellow lights at two of the intersections in question is so short it’s virtually impossible to get through them before the light switches to red. He says. “The laws of traffic cannot trump the laws of physics. It takes a certain amount of time to stop a moving vehicle, so you always have to take into account the real-world situation.” Flynn found the yellow light at 13th and Lincoln is just three seconds long, the minimum allowed by federal law and the 18th and Lincoln yellow light is 3.5 seconds long. Flynn points out, “That’s just trapping people.”
With the support of Denver Police and City traffic engineers, Flynn wrote a memo to other Councilmembers proposing they postpone the contract adding red-light cameras and try lengthening the timing of the yellow lights.
Traffic Laws Can’t Trump Physics: Councilman Flynn discovers yellow lights at some Denver intersections are so short it’s virtually impossible to get through before the light turns red.
While some argue red-light cameras improve safety, many feel red-light cameras are just cash cows for cities like Denver. The City raked in more than a million dollars in 2017 from the thousands of tickets generated by the red-light cameras. The money goes into the City’s General Fund. In November 2018, Aurora residents overwhelmingly voted to get rid of red-light cameras at 10 intersections in that city. Data from Aurora showed that accidents had actually increased at the red-light camera intersections. A 2011 audit by then Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher concluded Denver’s photo radar system did little to show it had any other purpose other than bringing in revenues.
Councilman Flynn says lengthening the yellow light times should address the safety issues without unfairly ticketing drivers. “We don’t need the 75 bucks per driver that badly that you have to induce violations that don’t have to occur, “Flynn says noting the Denver City budget is in fine shape. “The point is, you have to specifically engineer the traffic at each intersection on its own. There can’t be a blanket rule.”
Flynn points out that lengthening yellow light times has worked elsewhere. In Loma Linda, California, Flynn says an intersection with a red-light camera was averaging 249 tickets a month. They added 7-tenths of a second to the red-light camera and now hand out only one ticket every five days. “That’s the kind of safety I want to bring to Denver, “Flynn says.
City Council members voted unanimously to put off adding red-light cameras while City staff tries out longer yellow lights. That process could take up to nine months.
One other problem with the proposed new red-light camera contract, it listed the wrong intersections, so Flynn says they were going to have to postpone it anyway.
Revenue, Cost, Liabilities Not Fully Accounted For; City
Pays From Agency Funds Rather Than Workers’ Comp
According to a new audit released in late October by Denver
Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA, the city is not reporting up to 10% of its
workers’ compensation costs — approximately $3 million during the three-year
audit period — in the proper fund. More: Because the actuaries do not have all
the cost information, some of the liabilities associated with workers’
compensation are not recorded at all.
“The city should account for all workers’ compensation costs
in the designated fund, so we know what the self-insured program is actually
costing the people of Denver,” Auditor O’Brien makes clear.
State law requires employers to provide medical care and
treatment needed at the time of the injury or occupational disease and during
the disability. The city’s workers’ compensation activity is accounted for
primarily in a dedicated fund.
Salary Deemed Benefit
However, the audit found revenues, costs and liabilities are
not fully accounted for in the dedicated fund. Specifically, salary
continuation costs are not paid out of the dedicated fund. Instead, these costs
are paid directly by the agency without recording all related liabilities in
any fund.
Salary continuation is when the city provides paid
disability leave to eligible employees if the employee has a disability due to
an on-the-job injury or disease and is unable to perform the duties of the
position or any other position. Salary continuation begins after an employee
misses three days and files a workers’ compensation claim.
The city considers salary continuation to be a benefit and
pays for it out of individual agency funds rather than the Workers’
Compensation Fund. This matters because it means the city is underreporting the
total cost to the city of workers’ compensation in the city’s Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report. The city has agreed to add disclosure of salary
continuation costs and related liability to the 2018 financial statements.
Lacks Formal Plan
The city also lacks a formal strategic plan process for the
workers’ compensation program. Without comprehensive and targeted measures tied
to well-documented strategy, the city cannot determine if the self-insured
program is cost-effective and achieving strategic goals. More evaluation of
different workers compensation models could help ensure that the city has
identified all available cost savings opportunities.
“While the program’s performance has improved in many
aspects, the city is not fully analyzing the total cost of the workers
compensation program,” Auditor O’Brien said. “Without reviewing performance,
how can the city know it’s getting the best deal? Reducing unwarranted costs is
a primary goal.”
Finally, the balance policy for the city’s workers’ comp
claim fund does not match the actuary’s recommendation. The city uses a
third-party firm to calculate the fund’s liability and to make a recommendation
on how much above that liability the city should be able to pay due to the
uncertainty of claims. The workers’ comp fund has a target funding range $1
million below the actuary’s recommended level.
Puzzling City Decision
Auditor O’Brien questions this decision because the city has
more funds on hand than the recommended levels, but the agency disagrees and
chooses not to consider a policy to require the funds stay at the recommended
level.
“Given that the funding levels have greatly improved, I find
it puzzling for the city to have more money on hand than needed but not
consider making it policy to keep at least the actuarial recommended amount
available,” Auditor O’Brien said.
The audit also found room for improvement in updated polices
and in efficiency and effectiveness of the risk management information system.
City’s Watchful Eye: Denver City Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien,
CPA, is the watchdog keeping Denver business dealings straightforward and
trustworthy. His latest audit just released reveals the city is not reporting
up to 10% of its workers’ compensation costs — approximately $3 million during
the three-year audit period — in the proper fund.
Workers’ Comp Costs: City considers salary continuation to
be a benefit and pays for it out of individual agency funds rather than the
Workers’ Compensation Fund.
Paid Disability Leave: Salary continuation begins after an
employee misses three days and files a workers’ compensation claim.
Holiday shoppers will find bargains galore at Le Grue’s flower and Christmas store. LeGrue’s has been a must see decorating destination for 40 years at 476 South Broadway in Denver. The expansive store has one of the largest galleries of artificial Christmas trees in the area and has every style of holiday lights and decorations you could imagine.
But the owners are retiring after receiving an offer to purchase the building that was too good to pass up. That’s resulting in a new adventure for them and great deals for shoppers.
You will be able to find high quality artificial Christmas trees and decorations as well as silk flowers and plants. Le Grue’s also offers antiques and unique gifts. And everything in the store is for sale at huge discounts, as much as 50% off or more. “Everything must go,” the owners explain. They expect it will go fast and suggest people stop by and check it out sooner rather than later.
LeGrue’s owners say their customers and business neighbors have become their friends over the years and they say a special “Thank You” for all the support and great memories. “Le Grue’s has been an amazing journey,” they say. “And we are looking forward to new possibilities, adventures and beginnings.”
Le Grue’s is centrally located at 476 S. Broadway in Denver. The retirement sale is underway and will run through the beginning of the New Year.
Denver Landmark Closing: Le Grue’s, a shopper’s destination for 40 years on South Broadway, is closing its doors and holding a retirement sale.
Despite Colorado Center’s Classy Transit Connection New Adjacent Development Is Creating Corridor Sprawl
by Glen Richardson
“Ride the Rail to reduce traffic, air pollution and lower your stress.”
Washed Up: This self-service carwash site has sold for $767,000 and is the location of a proposed second apartment complex on Colorado Blvd. Construction is expected to start early next year with completion in 18 months.
Traffic Trouble: The Millennium Colorado Station apartment complex under construction at Colorado Blvd. south of Evans is already creating traffic gridlock.
Millennial Map: Millennium Colorado Station’s massive development stretches along Colorado Blvd. to Warren Ave. and extends east from Colorado Blvd. to Ash St.
It is at the Colorado Center more than anywhere else that Denver seemed to be getting transit right. The 13-acre office, retail and entertainment complex features a Light Rail Station, FasTracks, CarShare and an $8 million bike-pedestrian bridge across I-25. As a transit-oriented development (TOD), the venture east of Colorado Blvd. and north of Evans Ave. initially seemed to be the Valley’s perfect transit project.
Wrong: TOD’s “evil brother,” transit-adjacent development (TAD) is literally taking over the adjoining neighborhood with a gargantuan development somewhat close to the Center’s transit, but not oriented to transit. Unfortunately in a city/county where developers have the final say, far more TADs than TODs are popping up along the Valley’s transit line. At nearly every station on any given line, you’ll find, at the least, clumps of new-fangled apartments and more often than not, fresh fast food chains and novel businesses.
Developer Deal
Being promoted as Millennium Colorado Station the new development is a colossal 580,000-sq.-ft., 350-unit apartment complex under construction a block south of Evans Ave. That’s in spite of the fact Colorado Station’s “General Development Plan” approved by the Denver Planning Board in 2006 clearly stated: “Development is to be concentrated closest to the station with a decrease in intensity in adjoining nearby neighborhoods.”
Exploding on the east side of the heavily traveled traffic thoroughfare, the project stretches south along Colorado Blvd. to Warren Ave. A moneymaking way for the developers to leverage the potential of transit-oriented developments without any of the costs, the sprawling project extends east from Colorado Blvd. to Ash St. Furthermore, the apartment complex is likely to charge a premium rate claiming it is along transit routes.
Houston-based The Dinerstein Companies ac
Colorado Center Class: The Master Planned transit-oriented Colorado Center will have this retail “Main Street” section plus a residential tower with 189 apartments, 80 lofts.
quired the old Criterion Shopping Center that later housed the Amish Furniture Gallery at 2154 S. Colorado Blvd. in the summer of 2017. The firm also purchased two adjacent homes on Ash St. where they began construction a year-ago September. Los Angeles real estate investment firm CityView is a partner in the project. South Broadway-based the Cuningham Group Architecture, who is designing the monster structure, describes it as, “a clean, modern design with a diverse mix of materials, including stucco, wood and metal.” Amenities will include a pool, wet deck, cabanas and outdoor kitchen. There will also be a fitness center, game room, bike room and pet spa. Completion of the project is anticipated for the second quarter of 2019.
About The Area
The median real estate price in the E. Evans and South Colorado Blvd. area is $1,264,045, which is more expensive than 99% of the neighborhoods in Colorado. The average monthly rental price is currently $1,925, based on NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive analysis. That’s higher rent than in 68.5% of the state’s neighborhoods.
Neighborhood real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) or large (four or more bedroom) single-family hom
Beauty & The Beast: Huge complex being crammed into area southeast of Colorado and Evans has replaced some businesses and homes while creating concerns for others.
es and apartment complex — high rise apartments. Many of the residential homes are older having been built between 1940-1969. A number of residences, however, were built from 2000 to the present.
The home and apartment vacancy rates are 10.7% in the area of E. Evans and S. Colorado Blvd. According to the NeighborhoodScout analysis, that rate is lower than 40.9% of the neighborhoods nationwide. The analysis indicates this is approximately near the middle for vacancies nationally.
About Center, Station
Centrally located between downtown and the Denver Technology Center, the premier transit oriented development has long been the home to a Dave & Busters plus Colorado Center Stadium 9 & IMAX.
There are now three Class A Office Buildings on the site. The recently finished 400,000-sq.-ft. Tower III completed the office component of the project. Following Denver-based Tryba Architects Master Plan, there is more than one million square feet of additional development that will include a 205,000-sq.-ft. residential tower that will house 189 apartments and 80 loft-style units plus a fitness center. Also in the plans is a new, 24-hour retail “Main Street” section.
Colorado Station is a side-platform light rail station operating as part of the E, F, and H Lines. Opened in November 2006 it now boasts 5,600 boardings and arrivals each day. Surveys show that 2% bike, 43% walk to transit and the balance drive to the station. There is an RTD Park-n-Ride lot two blocks east of Colorado Blvd. Located at 4401 E. Evans Ave. it holds approximately 400 cars.
What’s Ahead?
As cranes loom over the Colorado Blvd. skyline south of Evans Ave. residents and businesses are asking what will their neighborhoods become? The answer can likely be found surrounding RTD’s Evans Station, a light-rail station further west on Evans Ave. that opened in July 2000.
A TAD Too Much: Projects such as this gigantic complex going up on Colorado Blvd. south of Evans leverage the potential of transit-oriented developments without the costs.
There developers have requested permission to build up to eight floors at 2065 S. Cherokee St. in the Overland neighborhood. The 0.7-acre site is just northeast of the Evans Station, a site that has seen several apartment buildings sprout up. The latest zoning request would allow for a project similar to the Encore Evans Station, a 224-unit apartment complex that recently opened.
Some may see it as gentrification, but intensive development with new apartments crammed in alongside or replacing businesses and historic homes appears to be the future of light-rail in Denver. With the city’s encouragement, neighborhoods can expect more and more “evil brother,” transit-adjacent development (TAD) projects hopping on the “light rail gravy train.”
A TAD More Apartments Coming To Colorado Station
A developer has submitted plans for a second apartment complex adjacent to the massive 350-unit Millennium Colorado Station going up on Colorado Blvd. Developer Austin Schmidt wants to build a five-story apartment building that would be surrounded by the enormous project under construction.
The latest transit-adjacent development (TAD) is at the 0.28-acre site of a self-service carwash that has been on the E. Warren Ave. site for at least a dozen years. Schmidt and silent partners paid $767,000 for the lot.
Schmidt admits proximity to the light-rail station two blocks north is what attracted him to the site. The five-story project would have 52 studio, one and two bedroom units. Parking would be on the floor and basement levels. The developer expects to break ground early next year with construction completed within 18 months.
Well-Established Retirement Community Brings Contemporary New Look To Southeast Denver
by Julie Hayden
Best Meals In Town: The Dining Room at Springbrooke Retirement Community has a brand new decor but the same great dining experience Springbrooke is known for.
The multi-million-dollar renovation speaks volumes, as the community’s local owners, Michael Opatowski and Stephen Elken, believe their residents deserve the very best. In addition to quality health care, restaurant style dining, a full calendar of activities and a magnitude of other amenities that their residents enjoy, they know that re-investing in their building is very important. “We’re always striving to be the leader in the senior housing industry, and when I’m in Springbrooke weekly and talk with our residents and hear how happy they are then I know we have done our job,” says owner Michael Opatowski.
Springbrooke Retirement Community is conveniently located in central Denver near Leetsdale and Monaco.
The 142-unit community offers a lifestyle for everyone, including In
Multi-Million Dollar Renovation: Residents and family members at Springbrooke Retirement Community give rave reviews to the all-new look in the main Living Area.
dependent Living, Assisted Living and the newly remodeled Memory Care unit. Springbrooke also offers outpatient Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy onsite.
Residents rave the “facelift” is gorgeous. Each apartment boasts brand new cabinets and lighting and features new granite counter tops and carpet. You notice the new décor as soon as you walk in the door, as the Entry, Living Room and Bistro are also newly remodeled. The Library, Dining Rooms, Fitness Center and Serene Courtyard also have a wonderful new look.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the excellent dining experience. Opatowski and Elken have owned Springbrooke Retirement Community for almost 10 years and their amazing chef, along with other upper level management and staff members have been part of the Springbrooke community from the beginning.
Relaxing And Restful Serene Courtyard: In addition to spectacular mountain views from apartment balconies, Springbrooke Retirement Community offers a beautiful courtyard for all to enjoy.
The delicious meals are just one thing that sets Springbrooke Retirement Community apart.
Residents and family members truly appreciate that Springbrooke is locally owned and operated. The building offers spectacular mountain views and there are balconies off every apartment.
Opatowski adds, “Longevity of our staff is also an anomaly and differentiates us. Our Executive Director, LPN, Activities Director and Culinary Chef have been with us since we opened the doors 10 years ago.”
The owners invite all to stop by Springbrooke Retirement Community. “Sit in on a lecture, have a cup of coffee in our Bistro, enjoy a lunch and spend a quiet moment in our Serene Courtyard. We’re proud of our ‘facelift’ and happy to show it off.”
