Signage on an exterior window at The Grand Apartments in LoDo proclaims that “It’s all Grand” but former tenants would disagree. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
One developer and 15 construction companies have resolved an eight-figure dispute over which are to blame for large-scale flooding, power outages and falling glass that left The Grand towers near Union Station uninhabitable and mocked as “Denver’s wettest apartments.”
Their settlement, which is confidential, ends the need for a 30-day trial that was scheduled to begin in downtown Denver this May and closes a case that came to be described as a legal “morass” involving 32 lawyers from 13 law firms representing 16 clients.
The Grand, at 1777 Chestnut Place, was a 24-story, 508-unit complex developed by San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties and built between 2016 and 2018 by Saunders Construction in Englewood. It was Shorenstein that sued Saunders in 2022.
By then, the so-called luxury apartments had an unsavory reputation. There had been leaks and large-scale floods, water had seeped into most apartments, glass from its balconies had fallen to the sidewalks below, and there were widespread power outages there.
The former Grand Apartments at 1777 Chestnut Place. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Tenants were forced out in 2022 as repairs costing tens of millions of dollars began. That led to lawsuits, including one in which evicted tenants compared The Grand’s swimming pool to a swamp in “Jurassic Park” and described the area outside as “a Western Front of drug dealers, wandering addicts and omnipresent random screamers.” That case was settled.
Saunders, meanwhile, defended its work and countersued Shorenstein for $400,000 in unpaid invoices from the project. Saunders also blamed a host of subcontractors for The Grand’s problems, so those companies were added as defendants. Some of those subcontractors then blamed other companies, until the case grew to include 16 in all.
Hundreds of motions, exhibits and other court documents were filed over 15 months. Last summer, they became so numerous that an outside lawyer was hired as a “special master” tasked with sorting out discovery disputes between the developer and 15 builders.
Finally, on Jan. 30, all parties in the case informed Denver District Court Judge Jill Dorancy that a settlement had been reached. Dorancy closed the case the next day.
Meanwhile, the refurbished Grand Apartments have been rebranded as the Jasper Towers. Rents range from $1,715 for a studio to $10,000 for a three-bedroom apartment.
A Shorenstein spokeswoman declined to discuss the settlement or the Jasper Towers. Lawyers for Saunders and the other builders did not answer requests for comment.
Signage on an exterior window at The Grand Apartments in LoDo proclaims that “It’s all Grand” but former tenants would disagree. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
One developer and 15 construction companies have resolved an eight-figure dispute over which are to blame for large-scale flooding, power outages and falling glass that left The Grand towers near Union Station uninhabitable and mocked as “Denver’s wettest apartments.”
Their settlement, which is confidential, ends the need for a 30-day trial that was scheduled to begin in downtown Denver this May and closes a case that came to be described as a legal “morass” involving 32 lawyers from 13 law firms representing 16 clients.
The Grand, at 1777 Chestnut Place, was a 24-story, 508-unit complex developed by San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties and built between 2016 and 2018 by Saunders Construction in Englewood. It was Shorenstein that sued Saunders in 2022.
By then, the so-called luxury apartments had an unsavory reputation. There had been leaks and large-scale floods, water had seeped into most apartments, glass from its balconies had fallen to the sidewalks below, and there were widespread power outages there.
The former Grand Apartments at 1777 Chestnut Place. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)
Tenants were forced out in 2022 as repairs costing tens of millions of dollars began. That led to lawsuits, including one in which evicted tenants compared The Grand’s swimming pool to a swamp in “Jurassic Park” and described the area outside as “a Western Front of drug dealers, wandering addicts and omnipresent random screamers.” That case was settled.
Saunders, meanwhile, defended its work and countersued Shorenstein for $400,000 in unpaid invoices from the project. Saunders also blamed a host of subcontractors for The Grand’s problems, so those companies were added as defendants. Some of those subcontractors then blamed other companies, until the case grew to include 16 in all.
Hundreds of motions, exhibits and other court documents were filed over 15 months. Last summer, they became so numerous that an outside lawyer was hired as a “special master” tasked with sorting out discovery disputes between the developer and 15 builders.
Finally, on Jan. 30, all parties in the case informed Denver District Court Judge Jill Dorancy that a settlement had been reached. Dorancy closed the case the next day.
Meanwhile, the refurbished Grand Apartments have been rebranded as the Jasper Towers. Rents range from $1,715 for a studio to $10,000 for a three-bedroom apartment.
A Shorenstein spokeswoman declined to discuss the settlement or the Jasper Towers. Lawyers for Saunders and the other builders did not answer requests for comment.
