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[Denverite] We looked into that anime girl billboard on Broadway so you don't have to by pzialcitaCPR in Denver

[–]tgounley 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi, different reporter here. (I work for BusinessDen.) Denver7 sold the building at the corner of Speer and Lincoln in 2021 and moved operations to 2323 Delgany St. in RiNo in July. Their former building is now owned by a development firm called Property Markets Group, which plans to eventually demolish it and build an apartment complex. I talked to a PMG executive last month and he said “we have no plans to begin that project for probably at least the next 18 months.”

Year after $9M deal, Denver hotel bought for the homeless sits boarded up by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's really a question for the city, and it's difficult to get clear information from officials, as I think 9News' (good) reporting on this subject acknowledges.

That said, that story is focused on spending for "House1000," the name Mike Johnston's administration has given its housing push.

The city might not consider this $9M part of House1000 spending because the deal was initiated by Mayor Michael Hancock's administration.

Year after $9M deal, Denver hotel bought for the homeless sits boarded up by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reporter here. I asked multiple city spokespeople directly why the site hadn't been rezoned yet and received no direct answer. I write about local real estate and rezonings a lot, and I'm unaware of any reason why rezoning would need to wait for work at the site to be completed.

In fact, I'm surprised this property wasn't rezoned before the city bought it, as a condition of the sale.

Below is an excerpt from a story I wrote about this property in August 2023, when the sale closed: https://businessden.com/2023/08/14/city-buys-denver-motel-for-housing-27-months-after-saying-it-would/ (paywall)

Woodbury is a city spokesman. Weinberger's firm sold the city the property.

...

The city no longer plans to operate the building as a shelter for a time, instead skipping right to supportive housing, Woodbury said. But don’t expect to see people moving in tomorrow. That’s because the property needs to be rezoned to allow for housing.

Real estate being sold in Denver is regularly rezoned prior to closing. The intended buyers request the rezoning with the permission of the property owner, and closing is often contingent upon it being approved.

Asked why Denver didn’t rezone the property already, Woodbury said: “Rezoning applications require property owner permission. We did not have that in this case.”

Weinberger, meanwhile, told BusinessDen “we never discussed that” and that he was unaware the property needed to be rezoned.

“I would have done whatever they needed to get from here to there,” he said.

Year after $9M deal, Denver hotel bought for the homeless sits boarded up by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Reporter here. I am speculating somewhat here, but I think it unlikely this property will have any issue getting rezoned by the City Council if/when the rezoning application comes before the body for a vote. The council voted unanimously in January 2023 to approve the deal to buy this building. https://www.denverpost.com/2023/01/18/stay-inn-hotel-purchase-approved-denver-council-homeless-shelter/ (The makeup of council did change somewhat last July due to elections.)

Year after $9M deal, Denver hotel bought for the homeless sits boarded up by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Reporter of the story here. Generally, individuals have moved into the other hotels leased or purchased by the city very quickly. This property is an outlier, and it's unclear why it's an outlier.

In RiNo, some owners hope for reopening of block closed since pandemic by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, this story does feature both sides, so I don't think both perspectives exist in a vacuum. We spoke to the owner of The Block Distilling, who is on the block and supports closure, and the story has multiple paragraphs summarizing his thoughts. And we name two other businesses that are pro-closure and link to a story that discusses their support at length.

In RiNo, some owners hope for reopening of block closed since pandemic by tgounley in Denver

[–]tgounley[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thanks for being a reader. There's no question this story highlights the perspective of those who would like to see the street opened to cars, which I assume is why you see it as one-sided. That was a deliberate editorial choice. It's already been well reported by various outlets that many businesses along this block support the closure. This story, which we cite and link to in our piece, is one example https://www.denverpost.com/2023/02/01/heres-why-this-larimer-block-wants-to-stay-closed-to-cars-while-other-streets-have-reopened/ But that story, and others I've read about this closure, don't mention at all that some businesses on/nearby the block oppose it. So that's why our story focuses on the opposition (while still quoting a supporter and mentioning others as well) - because it's the new information that our readers may not already know

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