Rose Macias looks out the window of her West Denver home where she has lived for 33 years and sees a forest of townhomes.
On every street in Macias’ quaint neighborhood south of Sloan’s Lake stands brand new, three-story, multifamily complexes sardined into lots once occupied by single-family brick homes.
The same story is repeated throughout Denver, which is in the throes of a massive building boom. Most of the investment is occurring in places the city long ago deemed ready for change.
Macias, however, doesn’t believe her neighborhood should have been targeted for such massive upheaval.
Others like her are upset about the recent wave of development, and many voiced their disapproval at the polls last week — voting for City Council candidates who expressed concern about the growth.
The question remains: Can anything be done now that shovels are in the ground?
Council members are saying design overlays can be placed in neighborhoods that will dictate that future construction conforms to the look of the neighborhood.
And in one northwest Denver neighborhood, wealthier and more connected residents have banded together to push for a design overlay.
But that probably won’t happen in Macias’ neighborhood, located in a pocket between Sloan’s Lake and West Colfax Avenue. It’s too late.
Developers have bought out homeowners, razed houses and erected shiny, new lofts — buildings with straight lines, modern colors, rooftop decks and in complete contrast to the old housing stock.
“They are putting anywhere from four to six families in the same spot that one family used to live,” says Macias. “The neighborhood has completely changed.”
Several years ago, the city went through an intense initiative to transform its growth plans — rewriting ancient zoning laws in an effort to direct density to “areas of change” and around transportation corridors. The idea was to encourage multifamily housing in places in transition and reduce the pressure on stable neighborhoods.
Then the recession hit, and construction halted. Now, it has come roaring back, and parts of the city are in upheaval.
• In 2014, 394 homes or duplexes were demolished or “scraped” in Denver, compared to only 99 in 2009.
• In 2014, 6,117 housing units were built in Denver, compared to only 902 in 2009.
Construction is overwhelmingly occurring in areas the city designated as areas of change — at a 5-to-1 ratio. And in those neighborhoods, mostly multifamily units are being built.
The city says it first designated the area around Macias’ home to be an area of change in 2002 and affirmed that in 2006. The area, called the Cheltenham Heights Town Center, is a six-block area north of Colfax between Federal and Lowell boulevards.
City planners say they actually downzoned the area from R-3, which would have allowed much taller multifamily units. The idea was to create a high-density neighborhood with access to major transportation corridors. Density tapers off the closer the homes get to the more established and stable neighborhoods near Sloan’s Lake.
But Macias sees upheaval in the small community of mostly Latino residents with modest incomes whose children attend Cheltenham Elementary.
“This is the jewel of Denver,” says Macias. “You can walk to the Broncos games. It takes five minutes to get to downtown. We are within minutes of everywhere. I loved it. … Now, they have all found my jewel.”
Councilman Paul Lopez, who now represents the neighborhood, says the city must do a better job to help stop gentrification. He advocates for better financial tools for residents to help keep them in their homes. He suggests capping property tax increases for people in gentrifying areas who have lived in their homes for certain number of years.
“When they are putting shovels into the ground, it’s too late to stop the gentrification,” Lopez says.
Every week, Realtors come to Macias’ door, begging for her and her husband to sell their home at 1645 Julian St. They have been offered as much as $675,000 for the three-bedroom, one-bath home. But it is not the house they want. It is the 7,190-square-foot lot.
“I don’t want to sell,” Macias says. “This is my home. This is where I raised my children, my grandchildren.”
She walks around the neighborhood, pointing to homes of elderly residents who have sold out and others who are about to. Many houses already have “for sale” signs in their front yards. Traffic has already increased — though many of the new complexes are not yet occupied. One neighbor says a line of slow-moving cars forms at rush hour along 17th Avenue from Federal to Sheridan boulevards.
Macias points to the three-story townhomes rising behind her house that have obscured her mountains views. Windows of the new units look down into her backyard, where her family likes to relax in warmer months.
“Why do we even have a privacy fence anymore?,” she asks. “I won’t even put up my pool this summer.”
The Denver Post’s Jon Murray reported recently that more than 50 projects around the city are in various stages of development that would add 11,303 new apartments, condos and row homes — many in neighborhoods like this one south of Sloan’s Lake.
“Has Denver lost its bearings? This is a nightmare,” says Larry Ambrose, who lives near Macias. Ambrose was a write-in mayoral candidate who has argued for changes in how the city is being developed. He pulled 2 percent of the vote to incumbent Mayor Michael Hancock’s 80 percent but spent virtually no money and didn’t campaign much.
Ambrose says Blueprint Denver, created in 2002 to help the city’s future growth, was never meant to be cast in stone. It was supposed to be fluid, adaptable and changed if things weren’t working well. But he says city lawmakers haven’t wanted to touch the policy.
“They think it is the Bible,” he says.
Ambrose says what is happening in Macias’ neighborhood should be challenged.
“I started complaining about this two years ago,” he says. “But even I didn’t imagine how fast this would go, how many houses would be scraped and how ugly these would be.”
The city is embroiled in change. Homeowners are clinging to their neighborhood histories or selling out to top bids. The city has a sensible growth plan, but it should be a living, flexible policy.
If it isn’t working or if neighborhoods are unreasonably being disrupted, people have a voice. Communities can make changes. And lawmakers can put restrictions on development to make it fit the neighborhoods.
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
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