One of the Cherry Creek Valley’s longest
continually owned and operated family businesses is about to become history.
The long-running Bonnie Brae Tavern that opened in 1934 with an old-school
ambiance, dishing out red-sauce Italian and American dishes, is likely to be
scraped-off by redevelopment.
End Of Era: One of the Valley’s longest continually owned and operated family businesses, the Bonnie Brae Tavern will likely close later this year. It will be replaced by a three-story building with condos on the top two floors plus ground floor retail.
Early-stage development plans submitted to
the city indicate that the 0.76-acre site at 740 S. University Blvd. will be
replaced by a 40-foot, three-story building with 43 apartments plus, in theory,
16,500-sq.-ft. of retail on the ground floor. The development would also have
one level of below-ground parking. At this point there is no guarantee that the
plot will in fact be sold or exactly what any development will look like. Some
anticipate that the retail will be jettisoned as it has been in other so-called
“mixed use” projects and the entire development will simply be one more
apartment/condominium project. The property owners have obtained a non-historic
designation for the building and demolition certificate which is valid until
May 1, 2024.
Plans are listed under the name Joe Jundt
who is developing the project with two local partners. Jundt reportedly envisions
one of the floor-level retail units as a higher-end restaurant, noting the area
is surrounded by pricey Belcaro and Wash Park homes. A Bonnie Brae Tavern
rebirth is unlikely, however, as there have been no discussions of the Tavern
reopening in the project.
Changing History
The east end of the Tavern building is
leased to In & Out Cleaners. The Tavern property also includes the building
at 750 S. University. Formerly a Bank of the West site, the building now is
home to Wish Gifts. Both businesses would be demolished according to plans for
the new project.
Celebrated Spot: This is what the Bonnie Brae Tavern looked like when Carl and Sue Dire opened the eatery in 1934. An early 9030s photo shows Carl Dire behind the bar.
Carl and Sue Dire bought the block of land
in 1933 when University Boulevard was a dirt road. The Dires opened a gas
station on the corner and Bonnie Brae Tavern was opened at its current location
in 1934, the same family still runs it. Looking east was sagebrush as far as
the eye could see until Colorado Boulevard, interrupted by a dairy farm or two.
To the west, instead of today’s pop-tops of prime real estate, there were
modest bungalows of a young neighborhood named Washington Park.
The tavern’s lack of pretentiousness made
it a favorite hangout for those in Glendale who viewed themselves at the time
as far more agrarian than urban. Well into the 1950s Bonnie Brae Tavern was
considered by many as part of greater Glendale rather than Denver.
Carl Dire – he died in 1982 – invested
every dime he had in the weeds and dirt along the east side of the street. With
prohibition out, Dire had decided to open a bar in what was one of the driest
neighborhoods in Denver. Dire and his wife Sue – she passed away in 2002 –
named the business after the housing development Bonnie Brae that surrounded
it. Like the restaurant, the neighborhood took time to grow into its name,
which is Gaelic means “pleasant hill.” In 1934, it was nothing more than a
scandal-ridden development that had gone bankrupt a few years earlier.
High Property Taxes Drive Sale
The impetus for the proposed sale has been the steep rise in property taxes for commercial property in the City and County of Denver. The last tax bill increased the levy by $30,000 for a $73,000 total. The owners noted that some businesses in the area are paying as much as $10,000 a month, which he finds would be prohibitive for many small independent businesses. It brings into question for some, can the Bonnie Brae commercial area on University survive? The old “Campus Lounge,” long a popular hangout like Bonnie Brae Tavern, is on its third proprietor in just a few years. As many small businesses are fleeing Denver, some do hang on as highlighted in the article on Page 1, “Old School Holdouts.”
District Ponders Beverly Hills Hip Vs. NY Village Vibes; Dumpsters On Street Plus Sardine Can Size Micro Apartments
by Glen Richardson
In 2018 Cherry Creek North projected completion
of nine out of 10 of its building projects, but as the new decade begins the
flurry of construction shows no sign of slowing. The neighborhood has slapped
on so much development in the past half-dozen years many residents and small
business owners are wishing for a moratorium to absorb the growth.
Shopping Galore: Cherry Creek North is becoming unrecognizable with a shift to be more like the famed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The days of quaint local artisan shops are quickly coming to an end.
The pace of development-driven change has
been head-spinning, adding millions of square feet of apartment and commercial
space while upending shopping and crushing the streetscape, parking and vibe of
the district.
In addition to lack of planning for and
management of projects, construction workers and developers have total control
of the streets with little or no concern for shoppers or retail owners. Equally
disturbing, the district still hasn’t decided on a direction to take to make
the district an attractive destination.
Beverly Hills Look
At the Cherry Creek North Business
Improvement District’s December board meeting, BID officials once again
contemplated trying to become Beverly Hills. It was the third time the board
has listened to Emzy Veazy III tell them how to copy Beverly Hills and retake
lost marketing share and become a world class destination. He also attended and
addressed BID in 2006 and 2017.
Building Buildup: BMC Investment’s remake of the Inn at Cherry Creek on Clayton St. is designed to transform the district into something similar to New York’s Greenwich Village. By completion, the Broe Group is expected to begin a massive makeover on the east side of Clayton.冨
Beverly Hills, of course, is known as one
of the most fashionable places to shop. In the heart of it all sits Rodeo Drive
— one of the most famous streets on the globe. It has more than 100
world-renowned stores and hotels along its three blocks.
BID board member Terri Garbarini — owner of
a Cherry Creek women’s shop for more than 20 years — has pushed for the Beverly
Hills image. She once told the Denver Business Journal, “Cherry Creek has
become Beverly Hills without pretentiousness — and business wants in.” She
originally had a shoe store in Larimer Square, then relocated to Cherry Creek
and reopened as a dress shop on 3rd Ave. In 2013 Garbarini paid $5 million for
the building at 239 N. Detroit St. and moved into the larger space.
Or New York Style
Meanwhile Matt Joblon — CEO of BMC
Investments and another BID Board Member — has been transforming the district
into something much more like New York’s Greenwich Village. His projects have
added New York style hotels and eateries to Cherry Creek. Joblon’s $30 million
makeover of the Inn at Cherry Creek underway on Clayton St. is being designed
as an 18-hour-a-day nightlife hub similar to those in the Village.
Sardine Space: This five-story, 37-unit micro-apartment building is under construction at 135 Adams St. Cars in photo are at the adjacent Zaidy’s Deli; there will no parking in the 300-800-sq.-ft. units.
Referred to as the “Village” by New
Yorkers, its history is artsy and edgy. It is eminently walkable, and may have
more culture per square foot than any other area of New York. Today it also
features sleek new construction, upscale restaurants and dozens of gyms.
Jokingly introduced by former Neighborhood
Assn. President Robert Vogel as the man who wants to change the district’s name
to “Joblonville,” BMC built the Steele Creek Apartments, Halcyon Hotel, the
Financial House and St. Paul Collection. Projects scheduled to start this year
include a five to seven-story structure with retail on Fillmore St. and a
six-story Equinox Fitness building on St. Paul
Eateries, Retail Turmoil
Not all of the BID board, however, has
benefited from the district’s massive construction projects. Marshall Miranda
closed his distinctive Bombay Clay Oven on Steele St. in April of last year. A
Cherry Creek fixture since 1997, he blamed the closure on “several years of
heavy construction that made access to the eatery difficult and parking all but
impossible.” Laurel Cherry Creek, a 12-story luxury condo opened several months
later.
Boutique Hangs On: Rather than closing, woman’s fashion store Adornments on E. Third Ave. has sold to longtime manager Consuelo Diaz , at right, and will remain open.
Hedge Row — the restaurant across from Miranda’s
eatery at 100 Steele St. — shuttered before Miranda called it quits. Kitchen
Restaurant Group co-founder Kimbal Musk blamed parking shortages and constant
lane closures for the decision. Construction was also a factor for the Thirsty
Lion closure. Harmon’s Eat & Drink didn’t renew its least on East 2nd Ave.
blaming rent increases. Even Wolfgang Puck couldn’t make it in Harmon’s space.
Cherry Creek’s retail has also struggled
due to the unmanaged building boom and rapidly rising rents. After five years
in the upscale Fillmore Place development, the Hallmark store at 2940 E. 2nd
Ave. closed in January. The store’s lease ended last July but remained open
through the holidays paying rent monthly. The Jonathan Adler’s store at 158
Fillmore St. in Cherry Creek also closed last year. The high-end furnishings
brand was the only Adler store in the region. Other closures included
Eccentricity, a women’s clothing, accessories and gift store at 290 Fillmore
St. and St. Croix on East 3rd Ave.
Positive Shopping News
Many residents and longtime state/regional
customers are concerned about the future of what has long been a neighborhood
hangout for shopping, dining and entertainment. The uncertainty that comes with
new construction, vacant storefronts and potential new owners makes them
apprehensive.
As development triggers the departure of
eateries and retail shops — particularly independent boutiques — there’s also a
bit of positive news to uplift shoppers. Rather than closing Adornments, owner
Helen Wicker has sold the local store to longtime manager Consuelo Diaz. Wicker
has moved to Santa Fe where she owns sister store Adorn.
Unloading On Shop: Construction workers-developers continue to harass retailers. Harriet’s on 3rd and Fillmore, at left, found this construction dumpster in metered space in front of the shop.
Diaz has managed the Cherry Creek store for
23 years, assisting the boutique’s devoted customers. “Adornments will continue
the unique, stylish and artistic vision that has made the fashion store a
Valley favorite,” she tells the Chronicle. The store features a continuously
changing collection of clothing, jewelry and accessories. Diaz and her
friendly-knowledgeable staff enjoy helping women with their individual style
and finding “clothing and accessories to Adore.” Adornments is located at 2826
East 3rd Ave. Information: 303-321-7992.
Dumpsters, Micro Flats
District shop owners, however, continue to
face challenges due to the uncontrolled construction. Harriet’s, a clothing
boutique at 300 Fillmore, recently found a construction dumpster taking up the
metered spaces in front of the shop. Owner Harriet Gibson, an unabashedly
direct business woman, eventually got the dumpsters moved albeit only few
spaces down the street in front of the library.
Upscale Cherry Creek North shopping faces
yet another challenge: Limited land in the district is attracting another kind
of development — living like fancy sardines in micro apartments. A five-story,
37-unit micro-apartment building is expected to open this spring at 135 Adams
St. in Cherry Creek. Amazingly neighborhood groups couldn’t halt the Barry
Hirschfeld-led development that features no parking in the already dense
neighborhood.
Whether Cherry Creek chooses to imitate Greenwich Village or Beverly Hills, the district is unlikely to become an awe-inspiring destination until it becomes walkable, has parking and can attract and keep shopping boutiques, vibrant venues and restaurants that create a unique destination.
Public Works Scrambles To Find A Substitute; The City Is Also Ending Its Electric Scooter Program
by Glen Richardson
Not Enough Takers: B-Cycle ridership has fallen steadily since its peak in 2014. The system’s riders took 377,000 trips that year compared with 305,000 in 2018, a 19% decline.
Despite a 2020 Denver bike lane budget of
$11 million, another $4 million for bike safety plus $3 million for
“high-comfort” bike lanes on 18th and 19th Streets, Denver B-Cycle is shutting
down on January 30, 2020, and won’t be replaced any time soon.
The company’s exit from Denver will take
737 publicly available bikes off the street at the end of this month.
Moreover, the city is also ending its
electric scooter permit program and hoping to replace it with a system where
scooter and shared bike providers will compete for a city contract.
Bid Peddling
Denver Public Works is now in the process
of looking for a new company to operate bike and scooter services through a
competitive bidding process that isn’t expected to be completed until the
middle of this year. That means months are likely to pass between the end of
B-cycle availability and the debut of a new system.
Amid competition from electric scooter and
bike companies, dwindling ridership and shallow revenues — the city peddled
5,280 annual bike-share passes for free to incentivize biking instead of
driving —many are questioning if the B-cycle era can make a comeback.
City government has helped fund the
bike-share system but did not operate it, and it will not run one in the
future, according to Mike Strott, a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office. In the
first six months of Denver’s sanctioned dockless transport program, six e-bike
and e-scooter companies combined to average about 5,100 trips a day.
Cost Cutting
Costly Cool: By issuing a request for proposals from private bike-share and scooter-share companies to operate in Denver, Public Works hopes the system will be less costly.
By issuing a request for proposals from
private bike-share and scooter-share companies to operate in Denver, Public
Works hopes the system will be less costly. The contracts will replace the
permitting system that has allowed companies like Lime and Jump to operate.
The competitive bidding process “will help
Denver better manage and coordinate the delivery of these commercial operations
and help ensure the city partners with the most qualified operator(s) to
further its mobility goals,” according to a DPW statement. A decision on who
will operate the program(s) won’t be made until at least this summer, Pubic
Works admits.
But even if Public Works is able to get a
new company or companies by this summer, getting a new bike share system up and
running could take several more months. That, many observers including bikers,
worry will make the delay even more lengthy. Upshot: Such a wide gap in service
is likely to push B-cycle users into buying cars. Moreover, many families used
B-cycle so they would only need one car.
Dated System
Scooters Shuttered: The city is also ending its electric scooter permit program and hoping to replace it with a system where scooter and shared bike providers compete for contract.
Denver’s B-cycle bikes and docking stations
needed to be replaced. Many dated to when the system was launched in 2010, according
to Mike Pletsch, executive director of Denver Bike Sharing, the nonprofit that
runs B-cycle. But the organization doesn’t have the money to replace the
equipment or renew its contract with Trek, the bicycle manufacturer that
developed the system.
“The continued aging of the system and the
cost to work with B-cycle is too high for us,” he said. “The funding is just
not there to do it.”
The organization’s 2018 budget totaled $1
million, according to its annual report. The city provided it with $800,000 in
2019, and about half of that was dedicated to a program that handed out the
5,280 free passes.
Falling Ridership
B-cycle ridership has been falling steadily
since its peak in 2014. The system’s riders took 377,000 trips that year
compared with 305,000 in 2018, a 19 percent decline, according to the annual
report. The decrease in riders corresponds roughly with the rise of ride-hail
services like Uber and Lyft, and the arrival of dockless scooters and bikes
last year.
But Denver’s bike share system has never
had the high number of stations needed to reach high ridership levels, like
those in Paris, New York, or Mexico City. According to the National Association
of City Transportation Officials, successful systems provide 28 stations per
square mile. Denver B-Cycle had about a half-dozen per square mile.
“We’ve got 89 stations currently and there certainly needs to be more,” says Pletsch. Those docking stations are spread out over seven neighborhoods and host the system’s 716 bikes.
The future for the average motorist in
Colorado is going to be bleak according to insiders at the Colorado Department
of Transportation (CDOT) which is the state agency in charge of the
transportation needs of the people of Colorado. In a 99-page study provided in
December by CDOT to the Colorado Legislature, the department claimed to need
$14 million to $84 million annually in increased fees with Executive Director
Shoshana Lew stating in a cover letter that the state’s “transportation funding
is insufficient and outdated.”
Haves And Have Nots: The future for Colorado motorists will separate the haves and the have nots. Those who can afford it, will be able to sail through what is often referred to as the Lexus lanes, above left, and those who cannot, will be stuck in traffic.
The requested fees increase would in fact
be of little help to the embattled state agency which has little desire or
funding to save the failing roads system in Colorado. Although seldom starkly
expressed, Lew’s plan is to make driving in Colorado so painful that many
average Coloradans will abandon their cars in favor of a public transit alternative.
She understands the inconvenience and unpleasantness of Colorado’s public
transportation system and that the state’s most affluent residents will likely
want to retain the convenience of their own automobiles. Under the radar CDOT
is creating a two tier system — revenue or “Lexus” lanes for those who can
afford it and massive traffic congestion for the general public.
Four major projects in and around Denver
demonstrate this new approach:
• $1.3
billion 10 mile Central I-70 Project in Denver;
• $500
million I-25 North Expansion Project north of Denver;
• $350
million 18 mile I-25 GAP Project south of Denver; and
• $226
million 12.5-mile C-470 Project southwest of Denver.
Many motorists are outraged when they learn
that billions of dollars in expenditures and massive construction
inconveniences will not provide a single additional lane of road for the
average motorist. CDOT effectively has slammed shut state firms from the
ability to bid on the projects so almost all projects are done by massive out-of-state
conglomerates at inflated prices. The following four massive projects reveal
what is in store for the people of the state.
C-470 Project
C470: The 12.5 miles between Wadsworth and I-25 in Douglas County is one of the busiest stretches of roads in Colorado with over 100,000 cars traveling it every day. The $226 million spent is solely for Lexus lanes while the general public will be forced to use the same two lanes east and west.
The 12.5 miles between Wadsworth and I-25
in Douglas County is one of the busiest stretches of roads in Colorado with
over 100,000 cars traveling it every day. The $226 million spent is solely for
Lexus lanes while the general public will be forced to use the same two lanes
east and west. CDOT did not have the funds, and did not want to ask the public
for the borrowing as required by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR). It
therefore set up an enterprise fund titled The High Performance Transportation
Enterprise (HPTE) which issued $161.7 million in revenue bonds and borrowed
$106.9 million in loans from federal sources. The revenue from the Lexus lanes
will go to pay back the loans, but even after the payoff, decades in the
future, they are not expected to ever open the lanes to nonpaying drivers.
CDOT expects by 2030 the car usage will
jump to 140,000 cars daily making travel ever more highly congested and
allowing CDOT to charge ever increasing premium prices for their Lexus lanes.
The contract to build the 12.5 miles of
road was not low bid (LB) but awarded on a design build (DB) concept to a joint
venture of Flatiron Construction (a subsidiary of the massive German
conglomerate HOCHTIEF) and AECOM, a large engineering firm out of Los Angeles.
It is one of the few large projects in Colorado not awarded to the virtual
duopoly of Kraemer North America LLC (a subsidiary of the Japanese construction
giant Obayashi Corporation), and Kiewit
Corporation, a Fortune 500 construction firm based in Omaha, Nebraska.
The project has been in constant delays and
CDOT sent a letter of default to Flatiron/AECOM who in turn indicated the
failures have been due to CDOT’s gross incompetence and the agency’s ongoing
effort to try to blame everyone else for its internal problems. The latest
delayed opening projection is in June of 2021.
I-25 Gap Project
I-25 Gap: The Gap Project will cost $350 million with the state providing $250 million, $65 million from the federal government, and $35 million from local governments including El Paso and Douglas counties.
If you are traveling south on I-25 after
completing the 12.5 miles of C-470 you will need to take your wallet out
quickly enough to travel the 18 miles from Monument to Castle Rock in more
Lexus lanes. That stretch of road is two lanes each way and CDOT says it is so
dangerous that two State Patrol officers have recently died in accidents using
the road. Of course, it is not really clear why it would be any less dangerous
to the average motorist who doesn’t get to use the one additional Lexus lane
each way other than some minor road shoulder expansion on existing lanes. The
Gap Project will cost $350 million with the state providing $250 million, $65
million from the federal government, $35 million from local governments
including El Paso and Douglas counties. Westword has been chronicling the
traffic nightmares imposed on the average motorist in articles titled “Traffic
Nightmare Closures Come to I-25.” Few are aware the only beneficiary of the
money and the traffic are to be the affluent who are willing to pay the fees
for the Lexus lanes and political outrage will occur when the public does find
out.
This project was awarded by CDOT to Kraemer
not on a competitive bid process but by Construction Management/General
Contractor method (CMGC) by which over 80 percent of such projects are awarded
to either Kraemer or Kiewit. This project is also haunted by numerous delays
and is now not expected to be finished until 2022. As with all CDOT projects
CDOT blames the contractor and the contractor blames CDOT.
I-25 North Express LanesMead To Fort Collins
I-25 North Express Lanes: The Mead to Fort Collins project was originally set for 13.5 miles for $250 million and awarded to Kraemer. Later when an additional $250 to $300 million of funding was located another 4.5 miles was added.
If you head north instead of south on I-25
after leaving C-470 you cannot escape the Lexus lanes. The Mead to Fort Collins
project was originally for 13.5 miles for $250 million and awarded to Kraemer.
Later when an additional $250 to $300 million of funding was located another
4.5 miles was added. Without even pretending to look for competitive bids CDOT
simply gave it to their friends at Kraemer, based on a so-called “change
order.”
Central I-70 Project
Central I-70: The most controversial and costly of all of the recent CDOT projects is the 10 mile stretch of I-70 from Chambers Road to I-25 which comes in at a whopping $1.3 billion dollars.
The most controversial and costly of all of
the recent CDOT projects is the 10 mile stretch of I-70 from Chambers Road to
I-25 which comes in at a whopping $1.3 billion dollars. For that money, in the
end all you get is a Lexus lane going each way. The road, instead of going over
the neighborhoods of Elyria and Swansea with a viaduct, goes down to the
neighborhoods and then back up with a viaduct above the road with a park on it.
Why this incredibly expensive alternative was chosen is not totally clear but
it is blamed on the Brighton viaduct being obsolete. It certainly was not to
help the residents of those neighborhoods who adamantly opposed it. Because the
project essentially creates a ditch which would be subject to floods, various
parts of parks in central Denver (City Park and Park Hill) were commandeered to
act as flood water detention ponds to the outrage of those residents
surrounding those parks. It is assumed that the friends of Mayor Hancock will
greatly benefit financially from grounding the roadway and the land has been
dubbed the “Mayor’s Corridor of Opportunity.”
As a design build project, it was awarded
to a joint venture Kiewit and the French global investment group Meridiam
Partners. What is somewhat unique about the relationship is that it was set up
as a public/ private partnership or P3 which means the joint venture will pay
the costs of the project while getting the revenue from the Lexus lanes for at
least 30 years. It has been said about P3s that, generally speaking, the public
gets the losses while the private entities get the profits.
As with all CDOT’s major projects the
Central I-70 project is years behind. CDOT blames the contractors while the
contractors blames CDOT. It is not clear why CDOT can never do a major project
on time regardless of who the contractor is.
The Future Of Transportation In Colorado And CDOT
It is clear that CDOT under Shoshana Lew is
generally not interested in building roads for the citizens of Colorado and
where CDOT does build roads they are only for the affluent who can afford the
Lexus lanes which will become ever more costly. By using CMGTC and DB methods
and not competitive low bids CDOT set a duopoly for Kraemer and Kiewit which
charges 30 percent more for every project. In addition, CDOT pays a quarter
billion dollars to consultants every year to perform the tasks that CDOT once
performed but is now unwilling to do. Major projects in turn are almost never
performed on time with massive inconvenience to the motoring public.
As highlighted in our Editorial on page 3, the disgraceful state of affairs has not gone unnoticed. CDOT and Lew are increasingly coming under investigation, including by the U.S. Department of Justice, for their practices which may violate various federal statutes. But unless and until the citizens of Colorado become cognizant and angered about what is happening to their transportation system, no long-term solution will be possible.
After the publication of our initial segment in November, “CDOT IN TOTAL DISARRAY,” the Chronicle has been inundated with additional information from present and former CDOT employees as well as other interested parties. As a result, what was originally envisioned as a two-part series has now been expanded to a three-part series, with the final installment coming in our January 2020 edition.
1950s Road: The Boulder Turnpike was originally constructed in 1952 as a toll road.
Coloradans are increasingly spending hours
stuck in traffic, some of which is unnecessary, insiders tell the Chronicle.
Former and current employees of the Colorado Department of Transportation
(CDOT), as well as in-state contractors, assert that the state agency formed in
1917 to direct the transportation needs of the state “no longer builds roads”
but simply now makes schedules that are seldom accurate. The primary goal at
CDOT has become avoiding blame or liability for the botched schedules and/or
designs resulting in massive additional costs for CDOT projects and long delays
in road projects being completed. The schedules have been weaponized by CDOT to
use against contractors when projects are delayed or run over budget, even where
the primary blame should fall on CDOT.
CDOT once revered for competence and
non-partisanship has become a political football whose overall mission is
increasingly unclear and muddled. Governor Jared Polis, upon coming into
office, replaced highly respected and seemingly well qualified Michael Lewis
(who had been appointed by then Governor Hickenlooper) with 35-year-old history
major Shoshana Lew. She is the daughter of Jack Lew, the former Chief of Staff
of President Obama and later his Secretary of the Treasury. Ms. Lew was
reportedly hired by Governor Polis as a personal favor to former First Lady
Michelle Obama. In interviews with media, including Colorado Public Radio, she
has strikingly avoided discussing roads and instead emphasizing bike lanes, buses,
light rail and multi-modal transportation. Her failure to respond to and, in
some cases, even understand questions from callers on “The Mandy Connell Show”
on 850 KOA Radio, caused her to be banned from the show which has a tradition
of featuring the head of CDOT to discuss transportation issues in Colorado.
CDOT employees indicate that she so dislikes traffic in the Denver area that
she has an employee chauffeur her around town, a luxury few Coloradans can
afford.
Sinkhole: The original toll road lasted over 60 years. The new revision constructed in 2014 lasted only five years without major repairs.
With transportation dollars relatively
scarce in Colorado and the state legislature unlikely to increase any funding
any time in the foreseeable future, making funding as cost efficient as
possible would logically be of paramount importance to CDOT, but the opposite
appears to be the case. In 2013 the legislature did away with the requirement
that all public projects in excess of $50,000 had to be “awarded by competitive
bid.” In its place it provided for the “best value” model in which bids come in
as either (1) Design Build (DB); or (2) Construction Management/General
Contractor (CMGC). Insiders view the “best value” as totally subjective and
little more than a new form of manipulating the system so that two large
out-of-state construction firms could be awarded 81% of all major construction
projects distributed by CDOT in the last seven years.
The two firms are Kraemer North America,
LLC, a subsidiary of the massive Japanese construction firm Obayashi
Corporation and Kiewit Corporation, a Fortune 500 construction company based in
Omaha, Nebraska. In-state contractors indicate that Timothy Maloney of Kraemer
North America was extraordinarily effective in shepherding through CDOT and the
state legislature the change in awarding contracts under the comically false
title “Keep Jobs in Colorado Act.” Prior to its enactment the majority of CDOT
projects went to in-state firms. Set below are the $3.7 billion in major
projects awarded over the last seven years by CDOT:
Mastermind: Tim Maloney, Vice President at Kraemer North America, LLC, successfully ramrodded the change in the bidding procedure through CDOT and the Colorado Legislature.
To apply to be awarded a DB or CMGC costs
firms tens of thousands of dollars. Insiders indicate that CDOT encourages
firms to apply in order to make the process look above board. But the in-state
contractors are then rejected on the basis that they have never done a large DB
or CMGC project. It is becoming increasingly difficult to con in state firms to
submit bids which they cannot win with the massive project almost inevitably
going to Kraemer or Kiewit or other international firms like Flatiron
Construction, a subsidiary of the massive German conglomerate HOCHTIEF.
In turn, Kiewit and Kraemer don’t even want
to have to prepare bids in the semi sham process as they are costly and time
consuming, so they have come up with a new method by using the so-called
“change order” scheme. Ordinarily a “change order” is a change in an existing
project that is different from what was originally contemplated, but words can
be manipulated to mean whatever someone wants.
Embattled: CDOT Executive Director Soshana Lew has incurred increasing demands for her resignation due to her lack of qualifications and performance at the job she currently holds at CDOT.
Regarding the over $300 million project to
build express lanes on I-25 from State Highway 402 to Fort Collins rather than
having to go through a bidding process, Kraemer got CDOT to simply declare that
it was going to do a “change order” to the $250 million project for express
lanes from State Highway 66 to State Highway 402. Little did it seem to matter
that the so-called “change order” was larger than the entire original project
and a wholly different section of I-25.
Cost Of Consultants
The massive costs of CDOT projects is in
large part due to the so-called “best value” method of bidding rather than
“lowest bidder,” but it is significantly exacerbated by the utter dependence on
outside consultant firms largely staffed with former CDOT employees who have
retired with PERA pensions at relatively young ages. CDOT no longer has the
in-house capacity to perform many of the everyday functions that it once did 20
years ago. Determining which outside consultants to utilize is once again on a
subjective basis and a consultant without a significant number of former CDOT
employees has little chance of being awarded a contract. Moreover, CDOT employees
have no incentive to look after the taxpayers when dealing with former work
colleagues. Furthermore, many of those now in CDOT plan to join a consultant
once they are eligible to retire under PERA and hope for similar lenient
treatment when they are on the outside.
Monumental Headquarters: Road funds have been scarce but CDOT built itself a massive, five-story, $160 million headquarters located at the intersection of West Howard Place and Federal Boulevard.
In May 2019 the Colorado State Auditor did
a Performance Audit of CDOT and found that problems with 80 of the 84 CDOT
agreements with consultants including “unapproved consultant labor rates,
contracts without proper approvals and contract terms that did not comply with
state requirements.”
While it was generally known that outside
consultants significantly added to the cost of CDOT projects the full extent of
the problem was not previously quantifiable. The chart below is based on very
recent internal CDOT calculations and if anything underestimates the problem in
which consultant fees have averaged over the last four years $226,500,000 per
annum adding 32.5% to the cost of CDOT projects.
Specific Projects
Next month the Chronicle will examine three
particular projects which are:
• The
$1.3 billion 10-mile Central 70 Project;
• The
$226 million 12.5-mile C-470 Project;
• The
$500 million I-25 North Expansion Lanes.
The delays, the cost overruns, the crony
bidding and other problems on these projects help identify the major concerns
with today’s dysfunctional Colorado Department of Transportation.
The spring and summer months of 2019 were a
troubling time for Denver’s LoDo district, as incidents of late-night violence
rendered multiple stabbings and shootings resulting in several fatalities. Such
details are troubling in any district, yet the fact that this area is home to
an array of high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, high-priced boutiques and
high-class clothiers makes the juxtaposing crime rate an anomaly indeed.
Crime Scene: Violent crime is on the rise in downtown Denver’s LoDo district.
Several socioeconomic dynamics intersect in
this grid, creating what could be called a perfect storm for senseless violence
occurring on an escalating scale.
This area is home to the 16th Street Mall —
a retail mecca for shopaholics, tourists and sightseers with expendable income.
The fact that, on any given day, thousands of people on foot navigate the
marketplace in search of keepsakes, tech necessities, high-end accessories and
urban adventure is irresistible to buskers, scam artists and spare changers.
The majority of the latter live on the streets, and according to nation
alhomeless.org, “a high percentage of homeless people struggle with substance
abuse [which] can cause homelessness, but it often arises after people lose
their housing.”
A clearer understanding of the problems in
the area can be gained by considering the types of people drawn to it beyond
those living downtown at very high rental rates. The focus here is on homeless
people, tourists, drug dealers and nightlife party people and how their overlapping
motivations may be the root cause of late-night violence.
Behold The Stampede
According to Longwoods International — a
data compilation firm providing statistics to Visit Denver Convention and
Visitors Bureau — 31 million people visited the Mile-High City in 2018,
resulting in tourism revenue of $6.5 billion. The firm also lists the 16th
Street Mall first among the top shopping and entertainment destinations for
visitors from New York, L.A., Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Kansas City
and Phoenix. According to a high number of negative reviews on tripadvisor.com,
many visitors firmly attest to the fact that an astonishing homeless presence
defines the area, complete with aggressive panhandlers, overflowing needle
disposal bins and the occasional fatality from drug overdose. The old adage of
“If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it” applies here, meaning that panhandlers
needing to support their addiction can do so by panhandling tourists for money.
Violent Crime: Denver police officers are increasingly called to the scenes of violent crime in the LoDo district.
Summon The Dealers
Addictions thrive on the availability of
the substance in question, be it crack, meth, fentanyl, heroin, prescription
drugs, etc. A large concentration of people dealing with the stress of living
without a residence, without family, without treatment for mental illness and
any number of other terrible conditions equates to a ripe market for any
enterprising drug dealer. According to part of a statement issued by the
National Drug Intelligence Center, “Gangs are the primary distributors of drugs
on the streets of the United States.” As there are over 110 known street gangs
in Denver, the LoDo district is undoubtedly targeted by more than one
organization, which gives rise to the violence inherent in territorial
disputes.
Hail The Party People
As the downtown foot traffic shifts from
shoppers looking for a good deal to young people looking for a good time, one
can reasonably postulate that the drug commerce adjusts in tandem to a more
lucrative yet discreet clientele. According to the opinions of local business
owners and their employees, territorial tensions may escalate as the night
marches on. Mike Villano, former owner of Chances Bar and Grill and longtime
contributor to the LoDo workforce, attests that “The violence is definitely
gang related. Gangsters are capitalists and weekend nights in LoDo are a
concentration of their target market.” The presence of alcohol and the general
eruptive nature of crowd mentality makes it easy to see why altercations
between rivals are inevitable. Meanwhile, a manager at an area establishment
who preferred to comment anonymously states that “ … with people blasting
(discharging weapons), one can only assume that some sort of gang affiliation
is involved.” The longtime LoDo worker continues with a cautionary piece of
advice for bar-hoppers, “Pay attention to your surroundings and know when to
vacate the area in a hurry.”
Dramatic Change: Lower downtown Denver can go from pristine to deadly in a matter of a couple hours.
The reality of the situation is that people
in LoDo are carrying guns around, pulling them out in the middle of the night,
and shooting strangers. If you’re going shopping downtown you can keep the
panhandlers at bay with stony veneer or a pocket full of spare change, and if
you’re going out for drinks afterward, keeping the danger at bay can be very
difficult.
