The building at 101 W. Colfax Ave. opened in 2006. (BusinessDen file)
One Denver City Councilwoman said Tuesday she plans to vote against the city’s proposed purchase of the former Denver Post building, while other council members pushed to see the appraisal justifying the $88.5 million price tag.
District 8 Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who assumed office in July, told BusinessDen Tuesday afternoon that she’s currently a “no” on the buy.
“There was insufficient due diligence searching for property with appropriate office space when comparable office space exists nearby projected to cost 1/5 of the price per square foot,” Lewis said in a statement forwarded by staff. “I want to be sure our city isn’t rushing to overcommit taxpayer dollars to unnecessarily expensive initiatives.”
Lewis said the city should be prioritizing other things.
Shontel Lewis
“With our city facing a shortage of affordable housing units, the ongoing project on the 16th Street Mall, and the need to address too-few public libraries and recreation centers in neighborhoods like East Colfax, it would be inappropriate to allocate such a large sum of money to the purchase of a building for 2030 with more pressing needs in our city right now,” Lewis said.
Earlier in the day, when the deal was discussed at a council committee meeting, Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval requested a copy of the appraisal and full purchase contract after two other council members expressed interest in seeing the documents.
Prior to the request, Lisa Lumley, Denver’s director of real estate, referred to the appraisal and contract as “work product” that would not be shared with council members, although she offered to sit down with council members individually to share certain details.
Amanda Sandoval
“I’d like to go on the record and request that all City Council members get the contract and the appraisal as attorney-client privilege,” Sandoval said.
Lumley didn’t directly address Sandoval’s request at the meeting. Laura Swartz, spokeswoman for Denver’s finance department, told BusinessDen later that “as always, we will provide City Council with as much information as we are able to during a negotiation.”
“We will work with City Council and their attorneys on the best format for providing the information,” Swartz said.
The committee ultimately forwarded the measure to the full council for a vote, with Lewis in opposition.
BusinessDen broke the news last week that Denver wants to pay about $292 a square foot for the 11-story, 305,000-square-foot office building at 101 W. Colfax Ave., which is leased to The Denver Post through 2029. The newspaper moved its staff out years ago and has been subleasing the office space to others, including the city. The building is owned by an affiliate of New York-based American Properties, which bought it for $93 million when it was completed in 2006, records show.
The city wants to buy the building to allow for the expansion of the municipal and county court system, as well to provide office space for nonprofit and judicial advocate services such as Colorado Legal Services and rental assistance programs.
The proposed purchase comes at a time when downtown has 30 percent vacancy and some office landlords are defaulting on their loans.
Paul Kashmann
Councilman Paul Kashmann was the first to question Lumley at the Tuesday morning committee meeting. He said he had gotten an email from a man involved in local real estate saying $290 a square foot is an “exorbitant” sum for the structure and “there are buildings available for way less that we could take advantage of.”
“I don’t know if $290 a square foot is exorbitant,” Kashmann said. “What’s your thoughts on that?”
Lumley said that negotiations to purchase the former Denver Post building downtown began about eight months ago and “it’s taken a long time to get to the price that we’re at.”
“Can we buy buildings that cost less? Absolutely,” Lumley said. “Are they going to be in our central court hub, and will the building be the size that we need for the amount of space that is required? And the answer is no.”
“I already have an appraisal in this place that supports this with a number of comps, so no, I feel very comfortable with bringing this forward at the price we’re at,” she added.
Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez then pressed Lumley on whether the council could see the appraisal before voting. Lumley said no. (BusinessDen also unsuccessfully requested the appraisal last week.)
“Until a deal is actually done, and it’s fully executed, and in this case until we close, that is where it’s still protected work product … So I’m not comfortable distributing it,” Lumley said. “I would be happy to speak to you and each council member to review and go through it … And at least share with you the basis for how they came at it.”
Alvidrez said “it doesn’t seem ethical to vote on a contract that we haven’t seen or reviewed.”
“If that’s what the people of Denver are OK with, I guess that’s what the people of Denver are OK with,” Alvidez said. “But I don’t know that’s the case.”
Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said it’s been an ongoing source of frustration for the council that they often don’t see full contracts before voting on them. Sandoval then requested the documents with the suggestion they be shared as attorney-client privilege, saying documents have been shared in that manner previously.
During the meeting, Lewis questioned Lumley about why the city needs the building and whether the Denver District Attorney’s Office could move into it instead of Republic Plaza. Lumley noted that the Denver Post’s lease of the 101 W. Colfax building would remain in place after the purchase, so the city couldn’t just move in to empty floors without subleasing them from the Post.
Lewis also questioned what she saw as a lack of specifics about who would use the space and additional costs beyond the purchase price, as well as whether expanding the court system should be a priority.
“Instead of us thinking about additional space, is there opportunity for us to think about how do we decrease the number of folks that are actually accessing our courts?” Lewis asked.
As for The Denver Post signage that still tops the building, expect it to stay in place even if the city purchases the property.
“The city expects that the Denver Post signage will remain in place while the DP Media Network maintains its master lease to the building,” said Swartz, the city spokeswoman. “There have not been any discussions on future signage at this point.”
The building at 101 W. Colfax Ave. opened in 2006. (BusinessDen file)
One Denver City Councilwoman said Tuesday she plans to vote against the city’s proposed purchase of the former Denver Post building, while other council members pushed to see the appraisal justifying the $88.5 million price tag.
District 8 Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who assumed office in July, told BusinessDen Tuesday afternoon that she’s currently a “no” on the buy.
“There was insufficient due diligence searching for property with appropriate office space when comparable office space exists nearby projected to cost 1/5 of the price per square foot,” Lewis said in a statement forwarded by staff. “I want to be sure our city isn’t rushing to overcommit taxpayer dollars to unnecessarily expensive initiatives.”
Lewis said the city should be prioritizing other things.
Shontel Lewis
“With our city facing a shortage of affordable housing units, the ongoing project on the 16th Street Mall, and the need to address too-few public libraries and recreation centers in neighborhoods like East Colfax, it would be inappropriate to allocate such a large sum of money to the purchase of a building for 2030 with more pressing needs in our city right now,” Lewis said.
Earlier in the day, when the deal was discussed at a council committee meeting, Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval requested a copy of the appraisal and full purchase contract after two other council members expressed interest in seeing the documents.
Prior to the request, Lisa Lumley, Denver’s director of real estate, referred to the appraisal and contract as “work product” that would not be shared with council members, although she offered to sit down with council members individually to share certain details.
Amanda Sandoval
“I’d like to go on the record and request that all City Council members get the contract and the appraisal as attorney-client privilege,” Sandoval said.
Lumley didn’t directly address Sandoval’s request at the meeting. Laura Swartz, spokeswoman for Denver’s finance department, told BusinessDen later that “as always, we will provide City Council with as much information as we are able to during a negotiation.”
“We will work with City Council and their attorneys on the best format for providing the information,” Swartz said.
The committee ultimately forwarded the measure to the full council for a vote, with Lewis in opposition.
BusinessDen broke the news last week that Denver wants to pay about $292 a square foot for the 11-story, 305,000-square-foot office building at 101 W. Colfax Ave., which is leased to The Denver Post through 2029. The newspaper moved its staff out years ago and has been subleasing the office space to others, including the city. The building is owned by an affiliate of New York-based American Properties, which bought it for $93 million when it was completed in 2006, records show.
The city wants to buy the building to allow for the expansion of the municipal and county court system, as well to provide office space for nonprofit and judicial advocate services such as Colorado Legal Services and rental assistance programs.
The proposed purchase comes at a time when downtown has 30 percent vacancy and some office landlords are defaulting on their loans.
Paul Kashmann
Councilman Paul Kashmann was the first to question Lumley at the Tuesday morning committee meeting. He said he had gotten an email from a man involved in local real estate saying $290 a square foot is an “exorbitant” sum for the structure and “there are buildings available for way less that we could take advantage of.”
“I don’t know if $290 a square foot is exorbitant,” Kashmann said. “What’s your thoughts on that?”
Lumley said that negotiations to purchase the former Denver Post building downtown began about eight months ago and “it’s taken a long time to get to the price that we’re at.”
“Can we buy buildings that cost less? Absolutely,” Lumley said. “Are they going to be in our central court hub, and will the building be the size that we need for the amount of space that is required? And the answer is no.”
“I already have an appraisal in this place that supports this with a number of comps, so no, I feel very comfortable with bringing this forward at the price we’re at,” she added.
Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez then pressed Lumley on whether the council could see the appraisal before voting. Lumley said no. (BusinessDen also unsuccessfully requested the appraisal last week.)
“Until a deal is actually done, and it’s fully executed, and in this case until we close, that is where it’s still protected work product … So I’m not comfortable distributing it,” Lumley said. “I would be happy to speak to you and each council member to review and go through it … And at least share with you the basis for how they came at it.”
Alvidrez said “it doesn’t seem ethical to vote on a contract that we haven’t seen or reviewed.”
“If that’s what the people of Denver are OK with, I guess that’s what the people of Denver are OK with,” Alvidez said. “But I don’t know that’s the case.”
Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer said it’s been an ongoing source of frustration for the council that they often don’t see full contracts before voting on them. Sandoval then requested the documents with the suggestion they be shared as attorney-client privilege, saying documents have been shared in that manner previously.
During the meeting, Lewis questioned Lumley about why the city needs the building and whether the Denver District Attorney’s Office could move into it instead of Republic Plaza. Lumley noted that the Denver Post’s lease of the 101 W. Colfax building would remain in place after the purchase, so the city couldn’t just move in to empty floors without subleasing them from the Post.
Lewis also questioned what she saw as a lack of specifics about who would use the space and additional costs beyond the purchase price, as well as whether expanding the court system should be a priority.
“Instead of us thinking about additional space, is there opportunity for us to think about how do we decrease the number of folks that are actually accessing our courts?” Lewis asked.
As for The Denver Post signage that still tops the building, expect it to stay in place even if the city purchases the property.
“The city expects that the Denver Post signage will remain in place while the DP Media Network maintains its master lease to the building,” said Swartz, the city spokeswoman. “There have not been any discussions on future signage at this point.”
