This home on Westwood Drive set a record for the Country Club neighborhood when it sold for $9.25 million earlier this year. (BusinessDen file/Courtesy Muntz Photography)
One of Denver’s wealthiest neighborhoods increased its use of private security earlier this year.
Country Club Historic Neighborhood, which represents the area just north of Denver Country Club, now pays for an armed private security guard to be onsite during certain hours of the day, according to a board member of the organization.
Board Vice President Chaun Powell said CCHN previously just paid for armed patrols of the neighborhood five times a day. That system had been in place for 12 years.
The change was made in the spring, said Powell, who attributed the decision to an increase in overall crime across the city. Additionally, Powell said HSS, the security firm that CCHN had contracted, shifted its focus to the health care industry and was no longer available; the selection of a new firm was a logical time to consider what services were needed.
Country Club generally extends from 1st Avenue north to 6th Avenue, and Downing Street east to University Boulevard. In June, a mansion there sold for $9.25 million, setting a record for the neighborhood. About 300 of the area’s 375 homeowners are part of CCHN, according to the organization’s website.
Powell said 75 percent of the neighborhood opts to pay for regular patrols, which continue under the new setup. About 40 percent contribute a higher amount toward the onsite guard at certain times, which he requested not be specified.
Among those in the latter camp are Andrew Feinstein, the owner of the ReelWorks event venue and Tracks nightclub in RiNo. He said he and his family moved to the neighborhood in 2021 and now pay thousands annually toward the onsite security, now provided by Global Guardian.
“I believe that when you pay an exorbitant amount of property taxes, you’re entitled to a safe and clean city,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said Denver is “woefully under-policed,” citing “authorized strength” numbers. The city has 1,444 sworn officers and 54 recruits going through the police academy, a DPD spokesperson told BusinessDen Monday. Its authorized strength is 1,596 officers, a figure that will increase next year to 1,639 officers.
Feinstein believes the shortfall is due to a 2020 law passed by the Colorado Legislature that eliminated qualified immunity for police officers. Law enforcement leaders have said the law has made it harder to attract and retain officers.
“We’ve had armed break-ins in our neighborhood, and the police response time is unfortunately not quick,” Feinstein said.
He said he’s called security three times since he moved to the neighborhood. He’s never called 911.
“There have been instances of, I would say, dangerous characters walking the neighborhood wielding objects that could be a weapon,” he said.
Feinstein said Country Club is “very fortunate that we have the means to add additional protection for our neighborhood,” but other parts of the city aren’t so lucky.
“The tragedy of being under-policed … is that the communities that probably need the most policing don’t get it,” he said.
Feinstein, a supporter of Kelly Brough in the recent mayoral race, said it’s too early to judge Mike Johnston, who won the two-person runoff in June. Johnston, who Feinstein praised for bringing new energy to the position, has made homelessness his top priority, pledging to house 1,000 people by the end of the year.
“I think that safety and cleanliness and security should be as equally important as housing our unhoused neighbors,” Feinstein said.
Country Club is one of two purely residential Denver neighborhoods known to pay for private security. Denver’s Polo Club neighborhood, where a mansion fetched nearly $18 million last year, has security onsite 24/7, Powell said. The Seventh Avenue Neighborhood Association surveyed members about potentially hiring security last year but ultimately did not.
The downtown and Cherry Creek business improvement districts also pay for private security, as does Riverfront Park, a largely residential neighborhood at the edge of downtown that also houses some businesses.
This home on Westwood Drive set a record for the Country Club neighborhood when it sold for $9.25 million earlier this year. (BusinessDen file/Courtesy Muntz Photography)
One of Denver’s wealthiest neighborhoods increased its use of private security earlier this year.
Country Club Historic Neighborhood, which represents the area just north of Denver Country Club, now pays for an armed private security guard to be onsite during certain hours of the day, according to a board member of the organization.
Board Vice President Chaun Powell said CCHN previously just paid for armed patrols of the neighborhood five times a day. That system had been in place for 12 years.
The change was made in the spring, said Powell, who attributed the decision to an increase in overall crime across the city. Additionally, Powell said HSS, the security firm that CCHN had contracted, shifted its focus to the health care industry and was no longer available; the selection of a new firm was a logical time to consider what services were needed.
Country Club generally extends from 1st Avenue north to 6th Avenue, and Downing Street east to University Boulevard. In June, a mansion there sold for $9.25 million, setting a record for the neighborhood. About 300 of the area’s 375 homeowners are part of CCHN, according to the organization’s website.
Powell said 75 percent of the neighborhood opts to pay for regular patrols, which continue under the new setup. About 40 percent contribute a higher amount toward the onsite guard at certain times, which he requested not be specified.
Among those in the latter camp are Andrew Feinstein, the owner of the ReelWorks event venue and Tracks nightclub in RiNo. He said he and his family moved to the neighborhood in 2021 and now pay thousands annually toward the onsite security, now provided by Global Guardian.
“I believe that when you pay an exorbitant amount of property taxes, you’re entitled to a safe and clean city,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said Denver is “woefully under-policed,” citing “authorized strength” numbers. The city has 1,444 sworn officers and 54 recruits going through the police academy, a DPD spokesperson told BusinessDen Monday. Its authorized strength is 1,596 officers, a figure that will increase next year to 1,639 officers.
Feinstein believes the shortfall is due to a 2020 law passed by the Colorado Legislature that eliminated qualified immunity for police officers. Law enforcement leaders have said the law has made it harder to attract and retain officers.
“We’ve had armed break-ins in our neighborhood, and the police response time is unfortunately not quick,” Feinstein said.
He said he’s called security three times since he moved to the neighborhood. He’s never called 911.
“There have been instances of, I would say, dangerous characters walking the neighborhood wielding objects that could be a weapon,” he said.
Feinstein said Country Club is “very fortunate that we have the means to add additional protection for our neighborhood,” but other parts of the city aren’t so lucky.
“The tragedy of being under-policed … is that the communities that probably need the most policing don’t get it,” he said.
Feinstein, a supporter of Kelly Brough in the recent mayoral race, said it’s too early to judge Mike Johnston, who won the two-person runoff in June. Johnston, who Feinstein praised for bringing new energy to the position, has made homelessness his top priority, pledging to house 1,000 people by the end of the year.
“I think that safety and cleanliness and security should be as equally important as housing our unhoused neighbors,” Feinstein said.
Country Club is one of two purely residential Denver neighborhoods known to pay for private security. Denver’s Polo Club neighborhood, where a mansion fetched nearly $18 million last year, has security onsite 24/7, Powell said. The Seventh Avenue Neighborhood Association surveyed members about potentially hiring security last year but ultimately did not.
The downtown and Cherry Creek business improvement districts also pay for private security, as does Riverfront Park, a largely residential neighborhood at the edge of downtown that also houses some businesses.
