Frustrated by what it considers to be years of dereliction, the City of Denver wants a court-appointed caretaker to take control of the former Cathedral High in Uptown.
“Inspections on Jan. 1 and Feb. 27 showed that little to no progress had been made to remediate the property,” the city complained in a March 9 lawsuit against its owner.
“The property continues to deteriorate and is a public safety hazard,” it added.
The campus at 1840 N. Grant St. began its life as a high school a century ago, then spent time as a convent, a care facility for AIDS patients — Mother Teresa announced its opening in 1989 — artist studios and a homeless shelter. It has been vacant since 2017.
That has made it an inviting target for vagrants, vandals and members of the urban exploration community, who film themselves climbing its red-tile roof and its off-white stucco features. The city blames GFI Development of New York, which bought the building for $4.2 million in 2016 with plans to build the 11-story Ace Hotel atop an adjacent parking lot.
“For many years, the city was unable to provide timely development reviews and approvals, which ultimately caused the owner’s redevelopment plan to fail,” said Jonathan Pray, an attorney for GFI with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. “And since that time, the city has purported to impose overlapping and inconsistent compliance requirements on the owner — all while law enforcement has refused to respond to and investigate crimes at the property.”
Denver has fined GFI $140,000 for allegedly neglecting 1840 N. Grant St. That prompted a lawsuit in September in which GFI asked a judge to wipe away the fines. Community Planning and Development then countersued on March 9 and asked that a receiver be appointed.
“Continued monitoring and maintenance of the property without remedial action by (GFI) is a waste of Denver’s time,” Assistant City Attorney Adam Hernandez wrote.
The city is asking Judge Mark Bailey to appoint David Cohen to the role. Cohen, 74, has been a lawyer for 50 years and handled hundreds of real estate matters, according to his resume. He also bought vacant properties in the 1990s that became Denver City Lofts at 1742 Champa St. and still owns and operates a few parking lots downtown, per the resume.
“Any tool that enables a potential purchaser to move forward with purchasing the building and bringing it back to life is a good one,” said John Deffenbaugh, CEO of the preservation-minded nonprofit Historic Denver.
If granted, the city’s request for receivership would allow Cohen to “demolish the structures on the property and/or sell the property to a qualified buyer.” Deffenbaugh said his understanding is that the reference to demolition is a boilerplate clause and demolition is not an option.
“Historic Denver does believe there is strong interest in Cathedral High School — in it being purchased and brought back to life in the near future,” he said.
GFI says it is under contract to sell the property to a buyer who will maintain and develop it.
“The owner of the property has worked hard to preserve the building at a significant cost, and it now believes that a sale will best accomplish that goal,” Pray said. “The threat of a receivership will only interfere with that goal and puts the future of the property in further jeopardy.”
Court filings do not identify the party under contract to buy the property. In March 2025, local developer Brian Toerber requested $4.5 million from the Denver Downtown Development Authority to help turn the building into a hotel. Toerber, who is redeveloping the former All Inn Motel at 3015 E. Colfax Ave., did not respond to a request for comment last week.
If 1840 N. Grant is placed under receivership, it would be the first time Community Planning and Development has obtained a receiver since 2024, the department told BusinessDen. Back then, it was the William Penn Apartments at 1644 N. Pennsylvania St., also in Uptown and also derelict.
“I continue to get constituent outreach from neighbors in this area who are concerned about vandalism, about people on private property where they shouldn’t be,” said Councilman Chris Hinds, who used to live one block over and work in the 1800 block of Grant.
“No one who has reached out to me has said, ‘We need to get rid of this structure,’” Hinds said last week. “The interest from everyone who reaches out to my office is in saving this structure and the property owner — or the city, because the property owner isn’t — really has to make sure the structure is preserved, because itap just so different and special for our city.”
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