The city of Denver is in the process of permanently shutting down the East Colfax neighborhood's last strip club, according to Councilman Chris Herndon.
How?
The city government is in negotiations to buy the club formerly known as PT's All Nude II and before that as Saturdays, Herndon said. The site eventually
Herndon said that the city has signed a letter of understanding with the property owner and that a purchase appears to be imminent for 8315 East Colfax Ave, though city staff cautioned that it's not a sure thing.
"We bought PT's. It's not going to sit there," the northeastern Denver councilman explained at a neighborhood association meeting. "It's going to be something."
A letter of intent generally is not binding, but Herndon sounded confident that the deal would happen. "We want that purchase completed by September," he said.
The sale is "in the early stages," and would need to be approved by the full city council, said Courtney Law, a spokesperson for the city Department of Finance. If it goes through, the city intends to bring in developers to turn it into affordable housing and mixed-use development, she said.
Herndon could not say how much money the city was offering for the lot, which is roughly half an acre, and city staff could not yet provide that number. It is unclear whether the purchase will include a dancing pole -- or maybe PT's took that to one of its numerous other local locations.
The presence of the strip club, along with motels, was one of residents' chief complaints about Colfax Avenue when we visited this neighborhood on Denver's far eastern edge.
Police have been working to clear "open-air prostitution and drug dealing," from the mile of the avenue that runs through the East Colfax neighborhood, as one police officer described it at the meeting. Among residents, there's a strong sense that the strip club has contributed to negative perceptions of Colfax.
There's also a strong sense of community in these blocks of '40s and '50s ranches, where verdant lawns bloom beneath mature trees. Asked what they liked about East Colfax, people on the sidewalks and at Tuesday's meeting cited their close bonds and active neighborhood association as positive elements -- along with, for some, the expectation that Denver's new investment in Colfax will soon reach the eastern edge.
In fact, Herndon described the purchase of the strip club as a first step for a long-neglected neighborhood.
"As a city, we have struggled in the past for investments in this particular area," he told a crowd of about 40 people.
But what will Denver do with it?
"The city is going to make it a much nicer strip club," Herndon told the group. That was absolutely a joke, he confirmed later.
PT's All Nude II has been closed for close to a year, according to Patrick Payne, a resident. The strip club last tweeted in December. It's unclear what put it out of business, but the city's purchase would make it permanent, according to Herndon.
The land at 8315 East Colfax Avenue is currently owned by Valentia Building LLC, which has held the title for more than 20 years, according to property records.
The city also will consider purchasing other lots along the avenue in order to assemble a larger parcel, Herndon said.
The neighborhood also is expected to see new government investment with the plans for bus-rapid transit, which could allow buses to travel the corridor much more quickly, as Megan Arellano reported.
And, as Adrian Garcia explained, there's a wave of developer interest making its way east along Colfax.
Want to stay updated on super-local neighborhood news? Subscribe to our newsletter, and email me some tips about your area.
