by Mark Smiley | Sep 29, 2014 | Main Articles
Frontier Renewal Will Finish Environmental Cleanup And Prepare The Site For Development
by Mark Smiley
Denver-based Frontier Renewal closed on September 12, 2014, on the purchase of over 41 acres at the site of the former Gates Rubber Plant in Denver. The plant has been closed since 1991 with buildings on site ranging in date from 1918 through the 1950s. Frontier Renewal will finish the remediation and cleanup work, as well as prepare the site for vertical development.
The Gates site includes three land parcels: the Broadway Parcel is 15.2 acres between the I-25 and Broadway light rail station and Mississippi along the west side of Broadway. The Santa Fe Parcel is 24 acres between I-25 and Mississippi Ave. along the east side of Santa Fe. The Vanderbilt Park Parcel is 2.5 acres between Tennessee and Vanderbilt Park along the west side of Santa Fe.
On October 1, 1911, Charles Gates Sr. purchased the Colorado Tire and Leather Company located in Denver, Colorado, beside the South Platte River. He paid $3,500 for a property that would one day become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of power transmission belts and a leader in hydraulic and fluid power products for industrial and automotive products. In 1919, the International Rubber Company changed its name to the Gates Rubber Company, and operated at the site from 1937 through 1991.
While at first a small enterprise producing “durable treads” made of leather intended to extend the life of the average automobile tire, the company quickly grew and in 1914 produced its first rubber tread. The growth that followed necessitated a new facility and the site at 999 S. Broadway was selected because of its relative proximity to downtown and because it was adjacent to the streetcar line and the railroad tracks, essential for the national distribution of Gates’ products. At the time south Broadway was still a dirt road and considered “suburban.” In the following five years the company added a warehouse, machine shop and more factory space. Growth continued through nearly the rest of the century, with increasing focus on international expansion. In 1995 the era of family-ownership ended when Gates became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tompkins PLC, a London-based firm. While manufacturing no longer takes place in Denver, Gates continues to operate with its corporate headquarters in Lower Downtown.
In 2001, Cherokee Denver purchased the south Broadway property and created plans for mixed-use development. Cherokee investigated whether some preservation could be accomplished, but due to the unusual circumstances of the contamination, preservation was never guaranteed or promised. Ultimately the Denver City Council-approved General Development Plan did not include preservation elements, and in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis the Cherokee deal died and Gates reacquired the site.
Three years later, in 2012, Gates secured Certificates of Non-Historic Status, which are precursors to demolition permits. After months of controversy, a Denver City Council subcommittee voted, in September 2012, to halt efforts to consider the crumbing manufacturing plant one of the city’s historic landmarks. This action was despite a University of Colorado Boulder student asking the city to consider the buildings historic, a designation that would have prevented demolition.
In 2012, Eugene Elliott, presented the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission with a non-owner application and $250 filing fee to grant landmark status to the three oldest remaining structures: the manufacturing plant, known as Unit 10, plus the power plant and warehouse to the north of it. “The former Gates Rubber Company is a huge piece of Colorado and, more relevantly, Denver history,” Elliott said. “By not accepting the landmark-designation application, the owner will proceed to demolish the last remaining physical reminder of what Gates Rubber Company did and was for this city and its citizens.”
The application was denied. Council members cited the need to remove pollution buried under the old plant, and the desire of neighborhood groups living near the building to see it removed, as reasons for their votes. A few months later, the Denver City Council made changes to the city’s landmark ordinance and on December 4, 2012, the Department of Community Planning and Development raised the landmark application fee from $250 to $875. Some say this is to discourage people like Elliott from submitting applications to attempt to stymie the progress of developers.
Also in 2012, Historic Denver, a non-profit historic preservation organization located at 14th and Ogden, coordinated neighborhood meetings to encourage community input. As part of this discussion both Historic Denver and Gates brought forward ideas for consideration.
While many at the meeting were comfortable with the demolition plans, they also expressed great interest in the preservation of the Water Tower. The tower now sits on the ground on the west side of the property, but it was once the most iconic feature of the facility, defining the city’s skyline for South Denver.
As part of the conversations Gates had agreed to retain the Water Tower and keep it in a safe place on the property until plans can be made regarding its reuse, in total or in pieces, somewhere on the site or on adjacent public land, such as the RTD Light Rail Station. Historic Denver believes that the incorporation of this piece would contribute significantly to maintaining an authentic sense of place at the site.
Annie Levinsky, executive director of Historic Denver, said last year that she’d always hoped that the buildings could be saved. “We recognize that the contamination issues are a serious complication,” Levinsky said. “But we’ve always remained hopeful that they could be salvaged.” There is no word yet as to whether Frontier Renewal will retain the Water Tower for the planned development.
Denver Councilman Chris Nevitt, who represents the area, said in September 2013
that he held out hope that a developer might be able to use some of the buildings, but he added that his constituents are eager to see the old factory removed. As proven in 2012 with Elliott’s crusade, not everyone agreed with Nevitt. In September 2013, Gates secured demolition permits for the existing site. The original factory sat deserted on the corner of Broadway and Mississippi until November 2013, when demolition of the final factory buildings began.
Frontier Renewal will now prepare the site for future development. Frontier Renewal will maintain the existing ground water remediation system and will continue cleaning up the remaining contaminates. Frontier Renewal will also work with the City and County of Denver and take part in a community process to discuss the future of the site as Gates did in 2012. Once this work is complete, individual land parcels will be sold for vertical development. Renderings have not yet been submitted but it is widely speculated that the land will be used for apartments or condominiums.
“We are pleased to be selling this important property to a company with the skill and commitment to responsibly manage the environmental risks and ensure that the property is put to beneficial reuse in a manner that will make Gates, the City and other stakeholders proud,” said Tom Reeve, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Gates Corporation.
“We are thrilled to be acquiring the former Gates site,” said Eric Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Renewal. “This project is a perfect fit for Frontier Renewal’s strengths: environmental clean-up, real estate development and public-private partnerships. And as Denver natives, we know the importance of this site in Denver’s history. We are looking forward to working with the city and community to create a bright new future for the site.“
by Mark Smiley | Sep 29, 2014 | Main Articles
$500 Fine For Cars On Driveway Overnight
by Glen Richardson
Polo Club North is a gated community with winding streets, open spaces with a stream, small ponds and waterfalls flanked by evergreens and aspens at South University Boulevard and East Alameda Avenue. A clubhouse contains an indoor swimming pool and outdoor tennis courts. Polo ponies cantered over the terrain here at one time. Owners paid immense sums to have garages instead of stables in this converted polo field. But the subject of automobiles has the well-to-do neighbors at each others throats with threats of lawsuits in the air.
The HOA Rules Committee in Polo Club North has proposed an astonishing new rule: To ban resident cars from being left in driveways overnight. The Committee attached a fine of $500 per violation after the second night. The HOA board looked poised to adopt the rule at a board meeting on September 23. However, due to outrage from occupants, the package of proposed rules changes was returned to the Rules Committee for additional deliberation.
John Leather who is helping to lead the opposition told the Chronicle, “If the sample of public opinion delivered at the meeting meant anything to the Rules Committee members present, they will drop the enforceable structure.” In addition to potentially major penalties, owners also worry that the rule would impair the marketing of Polo Club North homes to families, especially those with three cars. According to the Denver Neighborhood News the average sales price of a home in Polo Club area is just under $1.9 million.
Property Rights
In the apparent opinion of the members of the Rules Committee automobiles in driveways are a visual blight to their community. Automobiles are not allowed to be parked overnight on the private roads of Polo Club North. The opposition believes that the Rules Committee’s view of aesthetics is excessive and overblown with one irate homeowner blasting the Board declaring, “We are a community, not a commune.” Moreover, opposition owners believe these pad plazas or driveways are their property; and use of a driveway is a property right.
Upshot: In their view taking away the use of the driveway is taking away property. That, they argue would violate the Colorado Constitution. The HOA Rules Committee has three Colorado lawyers among its seven members, however, and apparently finds no role or weight for Section 14 of the Colorado Constitution’s Bill of Rights as it applies to private condemnation of a property’s use and benefit.
Section 14 states: “Private property shall not be taken for private use unless by consent of the owner, except for private ways of necessity, and except for reservoirs, drains, flumes or ditches on or across the lands of others, for agricultural, mining, milling, domestic or sanitary purposes.” None of those constitutional exceptions apply to the driveway ban, opponents believe.
Whether or not the constitutional exceptions apply, concerned neighbors note that a resident with a two-car garage — most everyone — but with three cars would immediately be impacted, and they will have to run fast from the $500 nightly hit. Ditto anyone with a vehicle too big to fit in the garage, or who has two cars but has used one bay of the garage for a workshop or other use. As one homeowner told the Chronicle, “The driveway use restriction can no more be justified than telling me I cannot use my patio after 9 p.m. Where is the HOA’s authority for taking part of either limited common element?”
Matter Of Beauty
A few residents — and rumor has it that at least one Board member — believe the Committee should consider restricted driveway use as a matter of “beautifying” the community, similar to use of no-plastic-patio-furniture. These beautification proponents say all aspects of driveway parking personally offend them.
“Thus far the Rules Committee is also clinging to the notion an overnight resident parking ban is without legal significance, and entirely defensible because its members think the result will look better,” stated opposition leader Leather.
The opposition also blasted the HOA board for limiting the hearing on the entire matter to only 15 minutes. They claim it was a rush to judgment to prevent discussion and debate.
There is no date set by the HOA Board for a re-hearing on the matter.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 29, 2014 | Main Articles
Construction Of Towers Into Historic Six-Acre Site Seen By Activists As Giving Area And Denver Another Black Eye
by Glen Richardson
Country Club Gardens — the historic 1940s five-building three-story apartment complex located in a six-acre landscaped garden environment adjacent to the Downing Street Parkway — is about to get hit with a pair of huge apartment houses as densification of the Cherry Creek and Country Club areas continues on unabated. The Broe Group is demolishing two existing garden apartments and replacing them with two overwhelming 30-story towers near the intersection of Downing St. and Ellsworth Ave.
The twin skyscrapers will be the tallest buildings outside of downtown Denver and will be equal in height to the One Tower Center on 17th Street, the 15th tallest building in Denver. By comparison, Plaza Tower One — one of the tallest towers in the Denver Tech Center — is only a 22-story building. The two towers will contain a total of 533 apartment units and several floors of structured parking. The two buildings will be mirror images of one another and top out at 322 feet in height.
The two towers, along with the existing 22 story building at 1001 East Bayaud also constructed by Broe, will block the view of the mountains for much of the Cherry Creek area.
The latest plan is in response to a hostile historic designation effort undertaken in 2007. In response to those hearings Broe agreed to retain the three northern buildings at the Gardens in exchange for the right to build out the balance of the site. Area residents however are not pleased or content with the recent Landmark Planning Commission (LPC) decision to approve the two massive residential towers. They tell the Chronicle that the development-oriented Broe Group has been jabbing away at their neighborhood icon for 20 years and the proposed massive two-tower complex represents the k
nockout punch.
Residents Up In Arms
How will the twin skyscrapers impact the unique character of this celebrated neighborhood? “It will be devastating to the historic significance, charm and personality of Country Club Gardens,” said Karen Mansfield. “No one likes to have dark circles under their eyes but we’re like the kid that got hit with a shiner and we are fully expecting to have two black eyes soon.” The tower design, they say, tries to put the historic area on a pedestal with a snooty, rock star look. “We’ve been hit with a catchy hook that’s simply not a good look,” said Mansfield.
Kristian Jeichler noted to the Chronicle, “This is going to drastically change the Denver skyline and life in the Cherry Creek area.” The concern is that the two buildings will indelibly alter many Cherry Creek neighborhoods for better or for worse, depending on the perspective. Residents make the case that the towers take the trajectory of the historic area in a direction that falls short. “They will forever change the Valley skyline while damaging the unique layout of the buildings, internal courtyards and connecting open space within the Gardens,” said Jonathan Pierson.
Along with concerns about the mass and scale of the towers, the Landmark Planning Commission has also expressed unease about the project’s impact on the historic courtyards and landscaping. “Preservation and compatible development of the landscape and courtyard are critical to retaining the character of Country Club Gardens,” according to the LPC report. The commission is waiting on a pending arborist report. The LPC is also providing a design review over the demolition and construction activity directly related to the project outside of the boundaries of the Country Club Gardens Historic District. This includes improvements off of Bayaud St. adjacent to the historic landmark Norman site.
Broe’s Reputation
Over the years, Developer Pat Broe has garnered a reputation as a ruthless tough negotiator who is personally despised by many people but admired for his ability to make money. Don Elliman, the former director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, described Broe as “a complex guy who rubs some people the wrong way…” While Tom Clark, when he was executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., declared, “We counsel our clients that they will not face a more challenging negotiation than they will with the Broe company.”
When asked whether he would even do business with Broe, Elliman said he would, “But I’d have my hand on my wallet and I’d have a damn good lawyer with me.”
Excavation Impact
The fight isn’t entirely over yet, Cherry Creek Garden activists say, noting that the Landmark Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval comes with conditions. The LPC report says the mass and scale must be consistent with the development agreement and the axial views and open space preserved and reinforced. Furthermore, approval is conditional on new plantings respecting and reinforcing historic patterns. Additionally, parking is required to be screened on all sides and integrated into massing of the new structures. Few believe that any of those requirements has the possibility of derailing the project.
The Broe Group will begin work this fall to raze the parking garage and portions of two of the apartment buildings where the twin towers are to be built. Construction of the towers themselves is set to begin in early 2015, with completion in late 2016.
When questioned about the impact of construction on people living in the Cherry Creek Gardens area, a spokesman for Broe told neighborhood groups that during peak excavation a dump truck would be coming or going from the project site approximately every 10 minutes. The spokesperson added that construction staging and other activities would be performed away from the site to limit disturbance. Also workers are to be bused to the area to reduce the congestion of trucks and other vehicles within the immediate area.
What Of Historic Significance Is Being Destroyed?
Constructed in 1940, Country Club Gardens was an excellent example of the International Style exemplified by the overall horizontality of the composition. Fisher, Fisher and Hubbell Architects — a leading Denver firm at the time — designed the buildings. The firm’s principals were Arthur Addison Fisher (1878-1965), his nephew Alan Berney Fisher (1905-1978), and Edward L. Hubbell. Nicholas G. Petry (1883-1950) was responsible for construction. He came to Denver in 1921 after building the Frontier Hotel in Cheyenne. Petry built many Valley buildings including Sherman Tower, the University of Denver apartments, and several Fitzsimons Hospital and Buckley Field buildings. With both residents and passersby in mind landscape architect M. Walter Pesman planned the landscaping with meticulous detail.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 29, 2014 | Main Articles
Complaints Flood City
The low slung masonry building at the corner of East Virginia Avenue and South Colorado Boulevard has been a Glendale landmark for over a half century, originally housing Club Monaco, and later such iconic businesses as Andy’s Smorgasbord, the Bavarian Inn, and, since 1982, Shotgun Willie’s adult nightclub. Today, however, the abandoned and graffitied building is an eyesore which has drawn complaints from businesses up and down Colorado Boulevard as well as residents of Glendale and Denver.
In November 2013, Shotgun Willie’s moved out of the building to the adjoining lot on which it had constructed its own new building. The City of Glendale condemned a portion of the land to provide a right turn lane due to the increased traffic generated by the adjoining Super Target. The old Shotgun Willie’s building and lot is owned by the Anthony Marino Family Trust.
After complaints at City Council meetings, the City threatened the Family Trust that it would declare the property a nuisance and tear down the building itself and bill the Family Trust its “applicable share.”
On August 15, however, Glendale and the Family Trust entered into a formal agreement whereby the City of Glendale granted a temporary construction easement for two months and will pay $10,000 toward the demolition of the building by Dave Stefanich, Inc. d/b/a All Demolition Excavating Company, a contractor of the Family Trust.
While the agreement does not mandate the demolition by any certain date, the two-month temporary easement would appear to require the destruction of the building by no later than October 15, 2014.
Marcus Rice, who went to a Glendale City Council meeting to complain about the abandoned building stated, “It is good news that building will be coming down in the near future. Glendale is turning into such a great place but the property was hurting the image of Glendale as well as that of Colorado Boulevard.”
Debbie Mathews, the majority owner of Shotgun Willie’s, noted, “We loved that old building while we were a tenant for decades but nobody is happier to find out that the City and the Anthony Marino Family Trust have come to an agreement to clean up the corner which our new building is directly behind. Sounds like a win-win for everyone involved.”
by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | Main Articles
Wine, Ales On Rails And Dinner Excursions
You’ve seen the signals: Freeway traffic, construction slowdowns, plus long hours at the office. It’s summertime and as that old Cole Porter tune seems to sugge
st, now’s the time to Get Out of Town!
Here’s a cool thought: How about a sojourn through time, natural beauty and a railroad experience that you won’t find anywhere else? The Georgetown Loop Railroad is the encounter you’ve dreamed about while waiting through those Denver traffic delays — beautiful backcountry splendor you can view while relaxing over wine or dinner. Not only is it close to home, but you can choose from a number of unique packages and programs that will help you quickly lose track of time.
One of the most popular is the Georgetown Loop Dinner Train departing from Silver Plume at 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. in Oct.), and heading down to Georgetown during the first course. After a brief stop at the Devil’s Gate station, you’ll enjoy dinner atop the Devil’s Gate high bridge overlooking historic Georgetown. Along with a complimentary glass of wine during dinner there is a fully stocked bar. Dessert is served during the travel back to the original st
ation. Dinner trains are offered most Fridays and Saturdays through October.
Wines, Ales & Mines
Also extremely well liked are the Wine and Hors d’oeuvres Trains that received rave reviews last year. Thus this year new and exciting wines from vineyards across the world have been added to share with travelers. These are matched with a selection of light culinary accompaniments to please the palate. Enjoy this while sitting in enclosed coaches atop the Devil’s Gate High Bridge above beautiful Clear Creek.
There are also evening trains known as Ales on Rails that are offered throughout the summer and fall months, and are a fun and casual way to enjoy the Rocky Mountains. Voyagers enjoy dining on light culinary fare paired with Colorado micro brew beers.
Adventure trips such as the Tunnel to Another Time mine tours are available. From now thorough the end of September explorers can enhance their train rides with an optional walking tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine, located at the halfway point on the railroad. The tour takes you 500 feet into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870s. Guides will point out rich veins of silver and tell you about early-day mining. The temperature inside the mine is a constant 44 degrees Fahrenheit, so bring a jacket or buy one in well-stocked gift stores. The tour also includes visits to the manager’s office, the miners’ change room and the tool shed. Information: 888-456-6777 or www.george townlooprr.com.
by Mark Smiley | Aug 1, 2014 | Main Articles
Attorney David Lane Calls Settlement Little More Than ‘Hush Money’
by Mark Smiley
The City of Denver announced the largest civil suit settlement in the municipality’s history at $3.25 million to former city jail inmate Jamal Hunter. The settlement appears to have made Hunter and his attorneys Rathod|Mohamedbhai LLC happy, but few others. The settlement has received federal court and City Council approval. Federal District Court Judge John L. Kane preconditioned his approval to a myriad of reforms, all of which the City of Denver has agreed to perform.
As more videotapes have been revealed showing more sheriff’s deputies abusing inmates at the city jail, the settlement has been met with little enthusiasm. Well-known litigator David Lane blasted the city saying the settlement was little more than hush money and declaring, “They will pay any amount to avoid the embarras
sment of exposing their officers to public scrutiny.”
Critics indicate it is not just the police officers and sheriff’s deputies that the city has to be embarrassed about and cover up, but now it is also their city attorneys and district attorneys. Veteran Assistant District Attorney Stuart Shapiro was caught running an apparently fake investigation on one of the sheriff’s deputies for the purpose of witness intimidation and tampering utilizing two Denver police sergeants from the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Court watcher, Linda Pierson, noted, “An entire criminal witness tampering and intimidation scheme was being run out of the City Attorney’s Office — and not a single charge of any kind has been brought to date against the assistant City Attorney, the Denver police officers or even the sheriff’s deputy they were supposed to be investigating. Unbelievably sad.”
The unfolding scandal has, however, resulted in an ever increasing number of self- imposed external reviews of the various legal and law enforcement agencies. Rec
ently demoted Sheriff Gary Wilson had four task forces underway to give recommendation while the Denver Human Services is reviewing the Sheriff’s Department’s policies and procedures. Mayor Hancock got into the act announcing his very own independent review of the Sheriff’s Department by a yet to be determined entity. City Attorney Scott Martinez in turn announced an independent review of his entire office, including himself, by a local law firm to be determined by “competitive bidding.”
Observers were quick to dismiss the sudden scurry of investigations. Trish Abbott noted, “It is standard operating procedure when you are in damage control mode. Governor Chris Christie employed it in his Bridgegate scandal and Hillary Clinton did the same for Benghazi. They will all be whitewash reports wrapped around a scam settlement within the original sham investigation.”
Abbott went on to note, “As part of the whitewash there will be dozens of recommendations from a myriad of reports that will be enthusiastically adopted by the City Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department none of which will make an iota of difference. Nothing will change. Scott Martinez will get to repeat his almost comical mantra that attorneys at the City Attorney’s Office are held to nothing but ‘the highest of professional standards.’ Mayor Hancock will get to hug whomever is his latest choice for sheriff and call him the ‘best sheriff in the country’ just like all of his other sad sack choices for the same position. Plaintiffs’ attorneys will continue to make millions while every egregious mega settlement will be characterized as one more chance for ‘Denver to move forward.’”
Other observers note that one of the main problems is that no one has ever been held accountable or acknowledged error within the City and County of Denver. City Attorney Scott Martinez began his press conference on the settlement insisting that the multi-million dollar payout was not an admission of liability or wrong-doing. Mayor Hancock demoted Denver Sheriff Gary Wilson while emphasizing he did nothing wrong and it was his department as a whole that had let him down. Not a single Denver sheriff’s deputy or police officer has been charged with excessive force in this century.
It is expected that the multi-million dollar settlement will result in a significant number of new lawsuits being filed. David Lane is scheduled to take to trial in September the wrongful death case of homeless preacher Marvin Booker killed in a jail house scuffle with sheriff’s deputies, but that too is expected to settle for millions of dollars.
In June alone the number of jailhouse complaints has risen over 30 percent. “It is time to take the Brink’s truck up to City Hall and empty out the city treasury,” declared Abbott. “Everybody and anybody the sheriff’s deputies have kicked around at the jail over the last few years is going to sue and collect, and every indication is that the number of such people is going to be quite high. The sheer incompetence and venality of the Sheriff’s Department, the Police Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office is staggering. Every attorney in the plaintiff’s bar is licking their lips to get in on the action.”
Attorneys indicate that the key to getting a multi-million dollar settlement out of the city 
will be to try to obtain the internal e-mails over the last seven years between the City Attorney’s Office and the Internal Affairs Bureaus of the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Department.
“Those documents are pure gold,” stated Scott Brock. “The fact that Judge Kane might order their production is what brought the city to its knees in the Jamal Hunter case. No one believes that Stuart Shapiro is the only one in the City Attorney’s running what appears to be a criminal operation. There are present and former members of the City Attorney’s Office all over Denver that are very concerned. The multi-million dollar Hunter settlement will look like peanuts in a few years. There are going to be a lot of very rich former city jail inmates running around this city, not to mention their lawyers.”
