The sign says the OK Thriftway Market is open seven days a week, but the state of the building tells a different tale.
The building has been vacant since 2008 and during that time, the property at 4401 Morrison Road has become a blight on the .
Boarded up and empty, the space is littered with broken glass and the back of the building is a haven for the homeless in the area, who regularly sleep there, drink alcohol and create late-night noise.
Community leaders have grown frustrated with the state of the property, but are getting help from Denver Police, who are patrolling the area more regularly.
“Mostly police have not taken it so seriously, until now,” said Michelle Schoen, co-president of the Westwood Residents Association.
Schoen said she contacted new community resource officer Josh Vasconcellos when he was assigned to the area. He was receptive and has upped the patrols in the area.
Vasconcellos said he stops by daily and between him and other officers, the place had been visited by police 14 times in a one-week span.
“We’re really trying to increase our patrols out there and become a lot more visible,” Vasconcellos said.
Schoen said she meets with other community leaders on Fridays at the “Old Thriftway” — as it’s called in the neighborhood — along with Vasconcellos and other officers. On one particular Friday, officers contacted four individuals and arrested one with a felony warrant. They also recovered tools, which had been reported stolen from a truck nearby.
During another patrol, fresh graffiti was found on the back of the building and a mattress in a shed indicated that people had been sleeping there. Broken bottles and human feces were also found on the property, as was a shopping cart that was not there during the previous search.
Also in the back are several sealed barrels, which Vasconcellos speculated could contain hazardous materials. The barrels had been illegally dumped a few years earlier.
Armando Busto manages both the Shady Nook and Belmont trailer parks nearby. He is a regular at the Friday meetings at the Old Thriftway and said the property has been a problem for his residents since he took over managing the property.
“I think it was time for (the police) to come in. It has been a nuisance for both of my communities,” Busto said.
He said he has noticed a difference since police increased patrols but still has fresh memories of the problems.
He said in June, a man who was staying with a resident of one of his communities committed suicide in the back of the building by hanging himself. He had also heard that a woman had been sexually assaulted there.
“This place serves as a hiding place for people to commit these atrocities,” Busto said.
Busto and Schoen said they both would like to see the building demolished.
“We want it torn down, it’s time for it to be torn down,” Schoen said.
District 3 City Councilman Paul D. Lopez, whose office is just a few blocks from the Old Thriftway, has similar feelings and said the building has been a priority of his for a long time.
“This is something that we’ve asked the city to abate, demolish and take control of for a long time,” Lopez said. “Unfortunately, the city has had other priorities, which has made this job kind of frustrating.”
Lopez said he grew up near the Old Thriftway and remembers a dry cleaner and a convenience shop with cheap goods.
A property search of the building shows that it’s owned by Chau V. Lee and that $17,368.33 is owed in taxes. The city has placed a lien on the property.
Schoen said that Lee was rumored to have abandoned the store and moved to Vietnam. Bank of America owns the loan to the building.
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or
