Westminster – Bulldozers are erasing a stain on the city’s landscape to the satisfaction of city officials and residents of an unfinished and dilapidated townhome development.
Crews this week started demolishing portions of Holly Park that were abandoned by a developer in 2001. Westminster wants to convey the property to someone who can complete the construction of townhomes for young families and retirees.
“We can now begin removing a neighborhood eyesore and creating a project we can all be proud of,” Mayor Nancy McNally said.
The Westminster Economic Development Authority acquired the property at West 96th Avenue and Federal Boulevard through eminent domain in April.
A demolition company is razing the townhomes that were left to fester and become targets of vandals and shelters for the homeless, residents said.
“I’ve lived here for six years in this mess,” said retired school nurse Yvonne Martin, whose home rests about 12 feet from ragged structures pockmarked with broken windows and rubble.
Martin was the last to move into Holly Park before problems emerged with developer Lester Colodny. Plans originally called for 70 townhomes on the site, along with a clubhouse and pool.
But only 12 units were built and in 2001, Colodny and subcontractors abandoned the project.
Colodny was convicted in 2003 of 26 counts of misdemeanor building-code violations related to Holly Park, and sentenced to four months in jail and fined $26,000. He couldn’t be reached for comment.
Those who were the first to move into Holly Park complained bitterly that the rickety town homes the developer left behind were driving down property values.
“You couldn’t sell these,” Martin said. “In the condition this development was in, who would buy here?”
The city in 2004 designated the Holly Park area as an urban renewal district. The designation allowed the city to use its condemnation power to acquire the property for redevelopment.
The city’s economic development authority began eminent domain proceedings in March 2005.
“Eminent domain was undertaken only as a last resort effort to protect the health and safety of the residents,” city spokesman Joe Reid said.
The city paid Adams County District Court $100,000 for the parcel, which rests on about 21 acres.
Demolition should take about six weeks, as crews clear away not only buildings but also building materials and foundations, said Aaron Gagne, senior projects coordinator for Westminster’s community development department.
Several developers are interested in completing Holly Park as originally planned, Gagne said. There are no plans to turn the project into subsidized housing.
“Our intention is not to write down the property and allow the 12 homeowners already there to be stuck in the middle of a project they did not buy into,” he said.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
