It’s been over 50 years since Ed and Connie
Thomas first met here in Denver, nearly 47 years since they bought their first
and only home together, and 25 years since Connie was diagnosed with
progressive multiple sclerosis.
Friends Of The Family: From left, Barbara Betcher, Ed Thomas and Ashlie Woods.
The first 15 years after the diagnosis
Connie seemed to be doing okay, but eventually the disease advanced to the
point where she couldn’t work and had to retire. While Ed took care of her in
the beginning of her diagnosis, he could no longer handle the responsibility of
caring for his wife. He had to make the difficult decision to move his beloved
Connie into an assisted living facility, and soon the house became too much for
one man. So, he resolved to sell their family home.
A former Denver City Councilman, a police
officer of 23 years with the Denver Police Department, and former editor of the
Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle, Ed Thomas has played an important role in the
Denver community. With his decision to move, he soon found himself seeking
support from the community that he helped serve and protect for so many years.
Friends of the family, Ashlie Woods and
Barbara Betcher, two brokers from the local Denver real estate firm Leonard
Leonard & Associates, stepped in to assist Ed with the sale of his home.
Woods and Betcher, who have known Ed for over 20 years, told him, “we’ll get
you through this and we’re ready to help in any way we can.”
Woods and Betcher were there from the
beginning, in 2016 when the decision was made to move Connie into assisted
living, for not only the physical process of moving but the emotional process
as well.
“They took control of the entire process
and did everything that needed to be done. I was a basket case, and they
handled everything,” Ed recounts. The decision to sell did not come easily.
Ed’s home meant, and still means, everything to him. It’s where he spent his
adulthood raising his family, a son and a daughter, and where he welcomed home
his three grandchildren. It is the only place he had known for years.
The Thomas Home: The family home at 7th and Cook — purchased in 1972.
Woods describes the entire process as “a
hands-on project, from beginning to end.” First, they needed to clear out the
house and downsize Ed’s belongings. Ashlie took the time to walk through with
Ed, often a couple times a week, to determine what needed to go and what he
could keep.
Next, Woods and Betcher needed to get the
house in shape and ready to show. They began with making small repairs
including updating the flooring, plaster fixes, and other jobs to ensure the
house was in saleable condition. They hired a staging company, while Betcher
helped with most of the staging.
Thomas proclaims, “It was absolutely
perfect and spotless.” So much so, that the first weekend the house went up for
sale, one of the first couples to walk through the door said, “We’ll take it.”
The house went under contract quickly,
selling for asking price the first weekend it was on the market.
With the quick sale of his home, Thomas
needed to move, and do it soon. When moving day came, Woods was there, stepping
in for his daughter, who could not be there to help. Without hesitation, Woods
assumed the role and offered her help.
Family Photo: Photo taken just after Connie was diagnosed with MS.
In helping find Thomas a more permanent
home, Betcher found the condo Ed resides in now, making sure he didn’t overpay
and negotiated the best deal for him.
Woods describes Thomas as a “real trooper
throughout this whole process.” With just his son here in Denver, Woods and
Betcher assumed the role of family and not just the professionals they are.
Taking the lead throughout the entire
process, Woods and Betcher went above and beyond what was required of them, all
without taking a commission for three years worth of work.
While life didn’t quite turn out as
expected, Thomas feels blessed to have his wife still with him despite this
disease. He is grateful for his life and what it has afforded him and is
appreciative of the community that gathered around him in a time of need.
Simply put, “You don’t get that lucky in
life very often,” Thomas expresses with gratitude.
Thomas says he would not have survived this
situation without his children, Betcher, or Woods. And for those who find
themselves in a similar situation, Thomas shares this sentiment: “Cherish the
love of your family and friends because one day you will need them.”
Strong Family: A family that has stayed
together with the help of their community.
Denver Union Station puts on quite the show
every holiday with a variety of events, festive decorations, and classic
holiday cheer for the entire family to enjoy. Don’t miss the quintessential
holiday celebration at Denver’s iconic landmark with these events and
activities that are sure to get you in the holiday spirit.
Photo courtesy of Denver Union Station
Grand Illumination
Friday, November 29, 5-8 p.m.
The holidays officially kick off with the
Denver Union Station Grand Illumination event. Join in the merriment of the
season with the ceremonious lighting of the Union Station building and the
40-foot Plaza Christmas tree. Entertainment is taken to the next level with a
vintage holiday performance by the Denver Dolls, holiday jingles by the Denver
Bronze, and a visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus. Open to the public and free to
everyone, with the lighting taking place around 6:15 p.m.
Union Station’s Holiday On The Plaza
November 30-December 31, 2019
Monday through Friday, 3-10 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Join the first ever Union Station’s Holiday
on the Plaza event as the Terminal Bar’s Patio will be transformed into a
holiday winter wonderland! Throughout December, join Union Station for themed
family-friendly DIY crafts, Christmas trivia, live carolers, and more!
Santa At The Station
Sunday December 1, 8, 15, and 22
Santa Claus: Visit Santa at the Station on the first four Sundays in December. Photo courtesy of Denver Union Station
9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Kris Kringle will make his annual trip from
the North Pole to Union Station the first four Sundays in December. Check-in
when you arrive with Union Station’s new text-to-wait system and enjoy all the
station has to offer. Visits with Santa are free and open to the public, but
they are also offering a paid option called the St. Nick Express Family Pass.
For only $50, you can reserve a time slot and go directly to the front of the
line at the time designated. The pass will also include a commemorative Union
Station Christmas ornament.
Breakfast With Santa
Saturday, December 14, 8-11 a.m.
Visit Santa himself at breakfast with
Santa. Bring the kids and enjoy a curated breakfast buffet, story time, and of
course photo opportunities. For adults, Christmas cocktails will be provided
alongside breakfast. To help remember the event, attendees will receive a
commemorative Union Station ornament.
Shop & Dine
Get your Christmas shopping done early with
a visit to Union Station. With several shops located inside, you are bound to
find something for all those on your wish list. For the bookworm in your life,
stop in at a slightly smaller version of Tattered Cover Bookstore or pay a
visit at the 5 Green Boxes and walk away with a locally made craft, jewelry,
and gifts for those on your list. After you’ve crossed everyone off your list,
be sure to stop in at one of the many gastronomic choices that call Union Station
home. From breakfast at Snooze to an elegant dinner at Stoic and Genuine and
drinks at the Terminal Bar, there isn’t a reason to go anywhere else!
Grab A Drink At The Cooper Lounge
Add a little flare and a bit of decadence
this holiday season with Denver’s most glamorous lounge, The Cooper Lounge.
Enjoy views of downtown and Union Station’s Grand Hall Christmas tree, all
while sipping on one of their holiday drinks. Indulge in high-end, hand-crafted
cocktails, an extensive wine list, and food to pair it all with, for the
perfect night out this holiday season.
New Year’s Eve Party
Tuesday, December 31, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Start the New Year off right with Denver
Union Station’s New Year’s Eve party. Enjoy one evening, with three different
dazzling experiences.
Ring In The New Year: New Year’s Eve at Denver Union Station.
The Great Hall Silent Disco & Light
Show brings an epic light show to Union Station’s Great Hall all while dancing
to your choice of three live silent disco DJs, using provided wireless
headphones.
The VIP Speakeasy is a great way to start
2020 with the new “Roaring Twenties” and an exclusive VIP speakeasy in the
historic lower level of Union Station. VIP tickets include unlimited
complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres, a musical piano performance, and
access to the Great Hall Silent Disco and Light Show.
Or enjoy table service at The Cooper
Lounge. Partake in a selection of passed canapes and a complimentary midnight
toast with Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Plus, patrons will enjoy access
to the Great Hall Silent Disco and Light Show.
Controversial: Short-term rentals in Denver are becoming more popular but not with everyone. Antagonists have claimed safety concerns but also lost revenue when only renting for a few days. Many homeowners skirt the rules by renting out a property that is not their primary residence.
The methodology dedicated to handling
Denver’s short-term rental (STR) industry is fairly new, as the governing
structures used today are from a 2016 city ordinance. Ongoing efforts to find a
perfect solution in an imperfect situation — one that makes everyone happy —
have been difficult to find. Denver is faced with rapid growth, and this
expansion has fallen upon current and future residents to placate.
Almost anyone who has heard of STRs has an
opinion about them due to a personal experience of some kind. Yet, multiple
people in the Mile-High City have declined to tell their story, and most who
elected to share spoke in hushed, prudent tones with lowered eyes. They shot
frequent glances around and recounted their anecdotes incompletely.
“I was told not to [speak on the record],”
said Rebecca after a pause. “I was told that there could be retaliation. I
don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know, I just think this is much bigger than
it appears.”
Rebecca declined to provide her last name.
She chose not to elaborate on her remarks, define what she believed retaliation
would entail or from whom it could come. A large portion of those who spoke to
the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle would not divulge any information at all
but acknowledged they were affected in some way.
Denver’s STR conversation has many sides.
The business side has provided crucial financial benefits for some. Others have
lost faith in their neighborhood’s economic value. But a report released in
April by the Denver’s Economic Development and Opportunity Department exhibited
that STRs have not had a significant impact on the cost of housing. According
to the report, only one percent of Denver’s housing supply is an STR, and revealed
weak correlation to local rent increases.
Still, like Rebecca, some are more
concerned with how STRs affect daily life in their community.
Sophi told the Chronicle that people have
mistakenly tried to enter her home in the middle of the night on multiple
occasions, as recently as this month. Intruders on her property were supposed
to be at the STR next door where they were staying.
Popular Site: Airbnb was founded in 2008 and is an online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. It is one of the most popular ways for short-term rentals to be listed and discovered.
“The dogs woke up and were barking and
trying to figure out what was happening — I thought somebody was breaking in,”
said Sophi. “I am often alone in the house. It’s not a great feeling to be next
to a really drunk [group of] guys or to have people trying our door. I think
once you get that many people together who are not all with it, that’s a safety
issue.”
Others have expressed similar safety
concerns but declined quotation.
Rebecca and Sophi share a home in Denver’s
Washington Park neighborhood next to a “mega-mansion” of roughly 2,000 square
feet. According to Sophi, the property has often hosted bachelor parties where the
guests’ goal is to “drink as much as they can and smoke as much as they can.”
As an STR property manager, David Pardo’s
“bread and butter” are “big and noisy parties.” Pardo, who has been an STR host
for over five years, has managed a combination of properties ranging from
one-bedroom apartments to larger townhouses. In an interview with the
Chronicle, he said that over 1,600 groups of guests have utilized his
properties. Some of these sites have specifically catered to events such as
bachelor and bachelorette parties, and Pardo estimated that he has hosted over
100 of these gatherings. These homes are located in areas of commercial use
where local zoning laws do not prohibit the operation of business, and
downtown, where noise is already generated from local bars and nightlife.
According to Pardo, the vast majority of
his guests have not broken any rules established by both the hosting platform
and himself. Most of the harm Pardo has experienced caused him personal
logistics problems but hasn’t affected close-by residents in any fashion.
“All the neighbors of my properties know
exactly what’s going on. They have all the contact info,” said Pardo. “We’ve
got all the noise awareness systems, sensors, cameras — we know what’s going on
because we don’t want our guests to have a [negative] impact. We build that
into our system. That’s not a requirement that the city has. That’s a
requirement that I have for myself. It’s personal practice for the sake of my
business.”
Not all STRs are in stride with legality. Denver’s
2016 rules state that an STR can only be operated from a primary residence. In
June a couple was charged with felonies for running an STR outside of their
primary residence.
Denver’s Office of Excise and Licenses
spokesman Eric Escudero said in a recent email correspondence with the
Chronicle that Denver is not anti-STR and explained how the city has
investigated potentially illegal STRs.
“After collecting evidence that shows
people are operating an STR that is not their primary residence, Denver frequently
sends out an affidavit to suspected illegal STR operators giving them one last
opportunity to come clean,” according to Escudero. “If they lie on the
affidavit attesting their STR is their primary residence, they could be charged
with the crime of influencing a public servant.”
To mediate the STR conversation and push
the industry in Denver toward more effective operation, Denver’s Short-Term
Rental Advisory Committee (STRAC) has orchestrated the rollout of a dual-phased
plan. The first section is focused on updating current language and defining
terms such as “primary residence” in a clearer fashion as 2019 concludes.
The Committee’s mission is to “provide
guidance and recommendations to Excise and Licenses policies pertaining to the
STR licensing program.” They have hosted meetings that encouraged public
comment, and members of the Committee include STR hosts, industry stakeholders,
residents of the neighborhood and elected city officials.
Hosts of STRs must also obtain licensure to
operate lawfully. Denver currently has a 78.3 percent compliance rate, one of
the highest in the nation according to the most recent data from the Office of
Excise and Licenses. In the same data set is the compliance rate of other major
cities: Nashville, 59 percent; New Orleans, 58 percent; San Francisco, 42
percent; Austin, 18 percent.
And while complaints about STRs are the
most common to the Office of Excise and Licenses, this data has shown that
Denver has displayed positive trends. STRAC provided data at their October
meeting as well; complaints about STRs to the 311-information hotline have gone
down from 92 in 2018, to 72 as of October 2019.
Phase two of STRAC’s plan is set to roll
out as 2020 hits its second quarter. Their proposed plans included finding the
best practices and legal parameters for property management requirements, as
well as working with other cities to draft effective new language centered
around platform accountability.
Industries that have thrived due to STRs
have taken a hit. Joyful Soul Cleaning’s owner Kayla Darling has operated her
business within STRs. She has been able to create jobs for many others in part
due to rental properties and joined the conversation with the hopes of changing
peoples’ hearts and minds but told the Chronicle that she has lost business due
to the decrease in rental properties.
“It’s definitely important to me that our voices are heard, so that we can say, hey we want to work with the city, we want to work with the communities to make [the STR business] a positive experience for everyone that we can,” said Darling. “But then also, we don’t want half of to go away.”
According to the Office of Excise and
Licenses, the number of unique property listings has dropped 21 percent since
last October, and 158 applications for licensure withdrawn since April.
Additionally, the total number of active licenses has gone up 24 percent. This
provides evidence that more residents have looked to follow compliance rules,
but less have listed their homes as an STR.
One thing is clear: the growing pains of
Denver’s STR industry can only be cured with efforts from all sides.
“Please, in all of this just consider that
there’s a very large portion of [STR] hosts that want to help,” said Joe (who
declined to give his last name). “I’m trying to assume some of the
responsibilities, and some of it is — we simply don’t even know [about
complaints]. I’ll tell you this. There’s change coming from the host community.
We’re taking more responsibility, we’re stepping up.”
The Long-Term Viability Of Fast-Delivery Denver Apartment Buildings
by Luke Schmaltz
The Crane: Denver’s unofficial national bird.
Although the official Colorado state bird
is the Lark Bunting, it has seemingly been replaced across the greater Denver
metro area by the crane. For the past several years, the Mile-High City skyline
has become increasingly dotted with these towering industrial effigies — as
long-standing, recently demolished structures are replaced with mid-rise odes
to blandness. These rapidly erected residential buildings have earned
disparaging nicknames from journalists and pedestrian critics alike such as
fugly, McUrbanist, fast-casual architecture, contemporary contempt, LoMo (low
modern), blandmarks and spongebuild squareparts.
A New Development
More Cranes: The skyline at a familiar downtown Denver intersection undergoes alteration.
In 2015, Denver adopted the International
Building Code (IBC) which allows for podium-style mid-rise residential
buildings to be primarily constructed of wood rather than concrete and steel.
The new code meant that a two-story concrete base known as a “podium” could be
vertically succeeded by up to five levels of wood-framed construction. This, in
turn, opened the door for a host of money-saving dynamics such as unspecialized
labor, cost-effective raw materials and quicker completion timelines.
A Nationwide Trend
This generic approach to residential development is not unique to Denver, rather, it is a trend rearranging the personalities of inner cities from Seattle to Austin and Minneapolis to Charlotte. The rising costs of land, labor and certain building materials has made wood framing the default method of construction — allowing for the creation of a business model with an attractive bottom line even though the product itself is anything but.
Supply And Demand
Competing For Space: A crane competes with the Millennium Bridge for skyline space near Denver’s Confluence Park.
According to The Denver Post, area
developers had 26,916 apartment units under construction at the end of 2018,
with a projected minimum of 12,000 units to be built every year for the
foreseeable future. This number is dwarfed by projections from Cary Bruteig,
owner of Denver’s Apartment Insights, a data reporting company that expects
2019 apartment construction to render upward of 25,700 units in 2019.
The phenomenon of cheaply resourced,
quickly erected residential structures gives rise to the issue of longevity.
Will these light-frame, wood fortified dwellings with flat window facades and
multi-colored exterior panels maintain their appeal at the same price point
into the next decade? A surging demand for affordable housing meets that
question with a resounding “yes.” Yet, in the event of a recession or if cheap
construction proves to fail the test of time, these aesthetic atrocities may
prove to be the 21st Century equivalent of 19th century balloon-frame buildings
— which were defined as being poorly maintained, substandard housing for the
lowest social rung of tenancy just above homeless. Lest history forget, these
structures were reduced to ash in tragic events such as the San Francisco Fire
of 1851 and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
The Price Of Cost-Effective Construction
While lack of aesthetic appeal and inflated
prices brought on by high demand are obvious drawbacks, economically built wood
frame construction buildings also carry several subsurface concerns. Structures
of this sort are susceptible to moisture being drawn into wall cavities, where
it can become trapped and foster wood rot due to humidity and the growth of
mold. The latter, in turn, can cause allergic and asthmatic reactions from
occupants. Wood framed buildings are also known for attracting termites, having
low thermal mass (ability to retain heat), offering poor sound insulation
between units, being vulnerable to fire damage and emitting volatile organic
and chemical compounds which diminish indoor air quality.
Distractions Abound
Prominent: Not a Lark in sight, yet the crane is obtrusive.
In a preemptive strategy to counter this
possibility, many developments are attracting top dollar clientele by offering
deluxe, high-end amenities. Luxuries such as on-site car washes, dry cleaners,
full-range fitness centers, work-from-home office areas, dog runs, complementary
weekend brunches and valet trash services aim to disguise the fact that most
tenants are living in identical boxes built by unskilled workers laboring at
breakneck speed. These overpriced cookie cutter domiciles include few, if any
features which discern one unit from another and zero signs of craftsmanship,
personalization or style. Many excited tenants, however, are far too distracted
by innovative diversions such as goat yoga, Zen gardens, tanning beds,
old-school video arcades, bowling alleys and free beer.
High-End On The Rise
An abundance of amenities, perks, on-site
attractions, as well as the inimitable allure of being the first tenant in a
new apartment, all add to the exorbitant rental prices brought on by a high
demand for housing. A new rental in a high-end downtown Denver facility can run
pretty high — such as $7,000+ for 1,324 square feet at Union Denver to $15,000
or more per month for a penthouse suite at The Confluence. Of course, not all
rates are mouth-droppingly Manhattan-esque, as many units appeal to a more
philistine price point such as a studio at The Verve on Delgany for just $1,563
or a studio at the Country Club Towers on Bayaud for a mere $1,855.
A Long-Term Diagnosis
The professional opinion of master
carpenter Richard Welker sheds some long-term light on the subject of
sustainability. Welker, a longtime Denver resident who recently relocated to
Portland, has personally worked on hundreds of wood-frame apartment units. He
attests “lumber isn’t what it used to be, but long-term, you can always repair
the guts of something that is made of wood. Theoretically, if stringent
maintenance protocols are followed, these buildings could last a really long
time.” This statement clearly places long-term viability on building owners and
managers, and whether they continue to be inhabited long after their new veneer
has worn away depends on what, if any, aesthetic taste tenants may have.
Plainly put, if people are willing to pay to rent dwellings that are ugly and
overpriced, they will continue to dominate the rental marketplace and the
skylines of inner city, U.S.A.
Coworking Expands, Corporate HQs Replacing District Shops, Claim It’s Now Second Oldest Commercial Block
by Glen Richardson
Chewing Up Street: The Tavern space on Gaylord has been vacant for more than a year and is likely to be gobbled up by developers adding offices in lieu of restaurants.
This holiday season will be the last for
one of Denver’s oldest gift shops as the 45-year old Tender Thicket along Old
South Gaylord has lost its lease to a developer. It’s the conclusive indicator
that this is the end of an era for Denver’s second oldest historic district.
The Thicket’s home on Gaylord St. is close to 100 years old. — it’s historic —
but the neighborhood decided not to designate it that way and that applies to
all the stores along Gaylord.
Larimer Square is Denver’s only locally
protected historic district, designated in 1971 after a determined Dana Crawford
saved the block. Its historic designation was the first in Denver that
recognized not only individual historic buildings but a collection of buildings
and their setting.
The quaint Gaylord block in the heart of
Wash Park — between Mississippi and Tennessee Ave. — was, until the last couple
of years, home to unique shops but is shifting into a commercial block similar
to how Cherry Creek North is changing. Until recently area realtors could claim
Old South Gaylord was the embodiment of what a neighborhood should look like, a
historic district of inviting boutiques, art galleries and great restaurants.
Distressing Demolition
Coworking Expands: Grant Real Estate Co. purchased the building that housed the Thicket and the adjacent Edward Jones offices on the left and plans to bulldoze the building and add a second coworking space.
The Tender Thicket survived three moves,
four owners, a flood, economic ups and downs, but redevelopment will be its
final move. Grant Real Estate Co. owner Aaron Grant purchased the 5,500-sq.-ft.
building that houses the Thicket and adjacent Edward Jones building (now
vacant) for $2 million. At the same time in 2017 Grant purchased the building
at 1040 S. Gaylord for $2.9 million and converted it into Park Coworking that
is now open with 24 stations and 16 dedicated desks. He now plans to bulldoze
the other two buildings and add a second coworking space. “It hurts my heart
that this cute neighborhood will no longer be part of the Old South Gaylord
community,” Tender Thicket owner Maury Ankrum tells the Chronicle.
The Thicket building was once a pharmacy
and, in fact, they resurrected the pharmacy counter as their checkout counter
and still have the first medicine cabinet in the back. “It was important to me
to keep a bit of its history intact,” she says.
Ankeum is now looking for a new location,
but hasn’t yet found the perfect fit. I am profoundly grateful and humbled for
the years of love and support this neighborhood has given us,” she adds. “We
will miss it dearly. I hope my customers will stop by to say goodbye and snag
some fantastic deals as they check off their holiday list.”
History Lost
Heritage History: The 45-year old Tender Thicket along Old South Gaylord has lost its lease to developers. The Thicket’s home on Gaylord St. is close to 100 years old — it’s historic — but the neighborhood decided not to designate it that way.
While the Tender Thicket building is
believed to be Gaylord’s oldest, the block is dramatically changing as several
developers are buying up the land to add office space in lieu of retail and
restaurants. The Thicket is just one of many stores that have left or are
leaving.
On the west side of the street, Gaylord has
lost Denver’s No. 2 ranked art gallery Arts at Denver, a tailor, two hair
salons and a bike shop. In addition to the Thicket, the east side of the street
has lost or is losing The Tavern, Washington Bark, Sole Sisters (a shoe store),
Little Angels (a pet boutique) and Edward Jones.
The prime corporate takeover of historic
assets taking place on the west side of Gaylord is the corporate purchase of
the former bike shop (Singletrack Factory) near the corner of Gaylord and
Tennessee by LotusGroup Advisors.
Corporate Takeover
Corporate Coup: Two walls are up on LotusGroup Advisors build-out of this two-story corporate office on Gaylord. Among reasons the financial firm chose the district is because of improved parking over its Cherry Creek location.
The Cherry Creek-based financial firm’s
Managing Partner Raphael Martorello paid $1.4 million for the property, has
bulldozed the building and is spending at least another $1.8 million to build
out a 7,200-sq.-ft. two-story corporate office in the heart of the historic
Wash Park neighborhood.
Designed by Neo Era Architecture and being
built by 303 Construction, the firm had projected completion in the second
quarter of this year. In mid-Oct. as this article was written only two of the
four walls of the corporate space are up.
When announcing the project along what he
called a quaint and nice street, Martorello said he chose the site because we
wanted to achieve a “commercial building that feels like a home.” At the time
he declared the new corporate HQ would have “an open floor plan, energy
efficient construction, many spaces for collaboration, and improved parking
over Cherry Creek.”
Gaylord’s History
High Drama: The building that now houses the Charcoal Bistro and a fitness studio opened as the D & R Theater in 1925.
The 1920s were the golden age of movie
theaters, and, in 1925 Gaylord opened its own motion picture palace. The Washington
Park D & R Theater (now home to Charcoal Bistro) at 1028 South Gaylord St.
was built by Carl Adler, who also operated the South Gaylord Home Bakery. On
opening night of the theater in August 1925, two Shetland ponies were given
away as a promotional event. The Washington Park R & D viewed itself as
symbolizing “a new ideal in entertainment,” a community theater which was
up-to-date in every detail.
A business district was flourishing along
South Gaylord by the early 1920s. Chrysler & Son was the first to establish
a business in the area, erecting a brick store at 1075-1083 South Gaylord St.,
in 1915. Historians say that the shopping area “was mostly a product of the
1920s when streetcar #5 terminated there and attracted shoppers on their way to
and from work.” The 1000 block of South Gaylord was zoned Business-Retail when
the city was first zoned in 1925. By 1930 the block featured three clothes
cleaners, two beauty parlors, two barbers, two plumbers, a sheet metal worker
and a shoe repair shop.
As Denver basks in a period of massive
growth combined with the commercial potential of historic districts, the
historic designation of buildings and homes is likely to have little impact on
the ground. Developers from Denver and elsewhere will continue to receive
over-the-counter demolition permits and raze buildings and homes to destroy
history for profit.
The state legislature put two proposals
before the voters this year. The first is Proposition CC which would
permanently end all Colorado Taxpayer Bill of Rights (“TABOR”) refunds and was
strongly backed by Democratic lawmakers. The other, Proposition DD, would
legalize and tax sports betting by telephone to casinos in Colorado if passed.
It has strong support among Republican legislators. It is clear that people at
the State Capitol don’t believe either proposal has sufficient merit on its own
to garner statewide support so they hope to trick you into voting for them by
misleading language and sleight of hand.
Back in 2005 under Proposition C (which
provided for a pause in TABOR refunds for a five-year period) the legislature
promised to use the money for higher education and got gullible people, like
the then University of Colorado President Hank Brown (a former Republican U.S.
Senator), to support the proposition. When it passed they, in fact, used the
money for higher education, but then they cut even more funds for higher
education from the General Fund resulting in less money overall. As Brown
bluntly stated: “They lied to me.”
Now the legislature plans to pull the same
con hoping the voting public will forget what they did last time. This time the
ballot language says it will be used to “better fund public schools, higher
education, and roads, bridges and transit with an annual independent audit to
show how the retained revenues are spent.” The annual audit will, in fact, show
that the funds will be spent for the stated purposes. The fly in the ointment
is that the legislature will then cut the General Fund for those purposes in
excess of the amount raised and spend the money any way they please. This is
exactly what they with did Proposition C almost a decade and a half ago.
The ballot language for Proposition CC also
starts out declaring: “Without raising taxes . . . .” But it does, in fact,
raise taxes but simply not tax rates. We the taxpayers pay more taxes because
you will never again get a TABOR tax refund.
Brown and former Governor Bill Owens, both
of whom supported Proposition C, have come out against Proposition CC because
they at least remembered how they were lied to 14 years ago by the legislature.
The CC Proposition has drawn opposition
editorially across the political spectrum. The Denver Post argued, inter alia,
that the proposition was incredibly unfair in that it allocates any money for
K-12 education be done on a per pupil basis which rewards the richest school
districts, like those in the Cherry Creek School District, while harming the
poorest schools in inner city Denver and Western Slope rural schools.
The more conservative Colorado Springs
Gazette based their opposition on the fact that TABOR has been a bulwark
against overspending since 1992 and is an important element on why Colorado’s
economy is ranked number 1 in the country for the last several years. If the
additional billion dollars the legislature received this year under TABOR is
not enough, the $1.7 billion it would receive over three years under
Proposition CC will also not be enough and the spending spree will just be
starting.
Regarding, Proposition DD it is beyond a
little strange that Republicans in the State House are so enthusiastic about
opening Colorado to taxed sports betting and the inevitable increase in the
state bureaucracy. If you have been watching the advertisements on television,
they are all about state water projects that will be enhanced and the fact that
the casinos will be paying the 10% tax on winnings. What a joke. The casinos
will pass the cost on to sports bettors along with at least another 10%
vigorish to cover their costs and profits. No one in their right mind would
place a bet with the government approved casinos as the amount to be taken out
of winnings will be enormous and, of course, reported right back to your
friendly IRS, but as PT Barnum said: “There is a sucker born every minute.”
The amount going to so-called “water
projects” is incredibly small and for fiscal year 2020-21 it is as follows:
Estimated
Distribution Fiscal Year
2020-21 Percentage
The ads with the clinically obese cattleman
show the support for Proposition DD by various water related entities expected
to get some of the chicken feed doled out under the proposition, but none of
them paid a penny for the ads. The ads were funded solely by in-state casinos
and out-of-state betting consortiums who are the real beneficiaries of the
proposition.
Proposition DD is opposed on the right by
the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University which wonders why we
see the need for the state government to take and run an ever-increasing number
of human vices. On the left, Coloradans for Climate Justice noted how little is
being raised for so-called water projects and it noted the phrase “water
projects” is so vague as to be virtually meaningless.
So why are the Colorado House Republicans
supporting a proposal which appears to violate many of its purported
principles. The answer is obvious. The Republican Party in Colorado is
virtually bankrupt. The support by Republicans was undoubtably in return for a
promise of funding future Republican endeavors in Colorado by Colorado casinos
and the out-of-state betting consortiums.
We guess just about everyone is for sale at
some price down at the Capitol. There is no reason we should support such
egregious conduct by voting for either Proposition CC or Proposition DD.
