denver politics

Denver International Airport will bring in a new shuttle operator next year to transport passengers and employees to and from its parking lots after the City Council on Monday approved a contract potentially worth $371 million. LAZ Parking Midwest will replace replacing DIA’s longstanding contactor, which missed goals for on-time service every day for three straight years before the pandemic, city auditors found. DIA’s contract with LAZ will start in February 2025 and stands as the airport’s largest single operations…

Well-kempt mansions dot Montview Boulevard in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, but the two-story Italianate house at the corner of Elm Street stands out. It’s surrounded by metal fencing, and the property’s rusty wrought-iron gate and overgrown lawn signal the property’s decay. When Denver couple Mark and Marianne Rinehart purchased the 90-year-old house for $2.5 million in September 2022, they envisioned their “forever home,” with a large yard for their two young sons to romp around. But, then, they consulted builders…

Review errors, unreliable data and poor oversight in Denver’s planning department exacerbated permit delays for home construction projects and renovations as wait times grew significantly during and after the pandemic, a new city audit says. Between 2020 and the first part of 2023, average wait times for residential project permits grew by 75%, or 113 days, according to the report, released Thursday. Auditors identified a lack of clear training processes and a need for better data collection as key factors contributing to…

Denver city government took a big step Tuesday toward turning the former downtown headquarters of The Denver Post into a courthouse when the City Council approved an $88.5 million purchase agreement for the building at 101 W. Colfax Ave. A city master plan projects it will need an additional 280,000 square feet of space for the city and county’s courts system by 2040. The former Denver Post building — which rises 11 stories and has roughly 306,000 square feet — has been identified as an ideal fit for that need by city…

Denver city officials and business leaders converged atop the Colorado Convention Center Thursday to celebrate the completion of an 80,000-square-foot rooftop ballroom — part of a project that’s a decade and $233 million in the making. The project hit several hurdles, including a bid-ridding scandal, but the focus at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was on the boost in downtown spending and tax revenue the expansion is expected to deliver. The new flexible space, dubbed the Bluebird Ballroom, comes with an outdoor terrace.…

Denver city leaders on Monday will vote on new rules that could dictate how East Colfax Avenue looks and functions for decades. But whether those rules, already in place on other busy streets, are a poor fit for the thoroughfare remains a point of debate. If approved by the City Council, the package of proposed zoning changes will govern future development for hundreds of properties between Sherman and Yosemite streets with an eye toward ensuring ample shopfronts and more space for sidewalk users along Colfax. The measure…

HOUSTON — The apartment complex where Teresa Eddins now lives is so quiet that “you can hear a pin drop” at night, she says — a stark contrast to the constant noise she withstood while living beneath a bridge two years ago. She was one of the first people who moved into a former hotel in Houston that served as a center to help homeless people navigate their way to more stability. She credits the transitional housing facility and programs launched as part of “The Way Home,” the large Texas city’s nationally recognized…

The city of Denver, no longer content to be a tenant in the former Denver Post building downtown, is moving to buy the 11-story structure for $88.5 million. Its purchase deal with the New York-based owner of 101 W. Colfax Ave. is intended to make room for the city and county’s courts. Many of the non-criminal courts are squeezed into the historic City and County Building across Civic Center Park. They’re expected to need another 280,000 square feet of space by 2040, according to a courts master plan. The building is just…

The Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building is the workhorse of Denver’s real estate portfolio, providing space for 2,100 employees across departments from the Clerk and Recorder’s Office to city planning to parks and recreation. Now, more than 20 years after it was built at 201 W. Colfax Ave., work is underway on a $133.5 million overhaul. The renovation will touch all 12 floors of the gray, oval-shaped office tower north of Civic Center park over the next two years. And even while it’s under construction, the Webb…