Denver is moving forward with a deal to buy the former Denver Post building at 101 West Colfax Ave. for $88.5 million, after City Council approved the plan nine to four on Monday. But a number of Councilmembers have lingering questions about the deal, which will face a second vote on financing in a few months.
The building will be used for city courts space, which, according to a city report, will require an additional 280,000 square feet by 2040. That's in part because the state reclassified some felonies as misdemeanors, sending cases to local courts and increasing the caseload.
While City Council approved the deal with Kayan, LLC, which owns the building, many Councilmembers maintained concerns about how the city is spending its money and whether the city is getting a good deal. Councilmembers Flor Alvidrez, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Shontel Lewis and Sarah Parady voted no on the plan.
"I'm quite frankly unable to connect the dots on this project," Lewis said. "We need to prioritize the needs of the taxpayer in our decision making in every dollar we approve, but specifically with these large dollar purchases, and I urge my colleagues to vote no."
Councilmembers expressed concerns about the high cost of the project and expanding court caseload, especially when departments are being asked to cut five to ten percent of their budgets. Real Estate Director Lisa Lumley said that the building would not affect the general fund, which keeps departments running. Lumley also said that finding a building that is a good fit is challenging, because it needs to be near existing city courts and cannot have too many existing tenants.
While the deal went through, City Council will have a second chance to reject the sale when the deal closes and a separate financing resolution comes before Council in a few months.
