The city won't take over the 11th floor of the Denver Post building after all

A bid by the Hancock administration to grab the 11th floor of the Denver Post building failed when the Denver City Council failed to approve $9.8 million to lease the space from DP Media Network LLC on Monday.

The move is the latest flex by a legislative branch that has called out several contracts with private partners, but the administration says the roadblock could delay hiring new staff.

City Council members Debbie Ortega and Candi CdeBaca said they weren't sold on the real estate move in a prime downtown location when other office space is available.

"I'm very concerned about this investment," CdeBaca said, adding that she "wants our real estate team to come up with a more consistent protocol for determining when we invest outside of the city instead of building our own capacity internally."

Though the Denver Post name is still on the building, the staff has long since moved to the paper's printing facility at 5990 Washington St.

The vote was 6 to 6. Council members Kendra Black, Jolon Clark, Stacie Gilmore, Chris Herndon, Paul Kashmann and Robin Kniech voted to approve the contract. Council members Kevin Flynn, Chris Hinds, Debbie Ortega, Amanda Sandoval, Amanda Sawyer and CdeBaca voted against it. The tie doomed the contract.

"As Denver's population has grown, so have the demands for city services and staff," said Katherine Turner, a spokeswoman for the city's finance department. "We are facing critical space shortages that could force the city to delay hiring at a time when recruiting top talent to the city is as competitive as it ever has been."

The city will assess other spaces, Turner said.