The building at 1565 Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood. (Maia Luem/BusinessDen)
The City of Lakewood is sending its first bills to owners of vacant commercial buildings, but at least one property owner is confused about if he’ll be getting one.
Jamie Harris owns a dozen shopping centers around the Denver area, including one on 2 acres at the corner of Colfax and Wadsworth. A large portion of it used to hold the clothing bank The Action Center, but the nonprofit relocated in December.
Harris has owned the 1565 Wadsworth Blvd. property for 20 years.
“I want to tear down the property and improve it, but the city is standing in my way,” Harris said.
In three years, Harris said he’s had six different contracts drawn up for firms that would redevelop the site. Three wanted to do gas stations, another a car wash and two were interested in building apartments.
But each time, Harris said, the city shot them down because his entire property sits in the floodplain. Lakewood has a solution for that: the North Dry Gulch project, which has been in the works since 2008 and will address floodplain issues across the West Colfax corridor. Construction for the first phase of the plan started last month.
“There is hope. That work is getting done, but it will take years,” Harris said.
His property will be addressed during the third phase, when Lakewood plans to build a culvert across his property and three others. But that isn’t slated to start until fall 2025, according to a Lakewood official, and plans aren’t finalized yet.
And now Harris is facing another issue – Lakewood’s vacant property fee. Last month, the city passed an ordinance that, with some exceptions, charges owners of vacant buildings a $700 registration fee every six months, and an additional $800 fine if emergency services are called to the property.
Harris was unaware of the program until BusinessDen reported it was approved in January, coincidentally using a picture of his property.
Lakewood Planning Director Travis Parker said the city has flagged 17 vacant buildings so far, and those owners will be notified of the fee by early next week. So far, properties have been added to the list when their owners report them, or through complaints received from neighbors.
Harris’ property is not on the city’s list of vacant properties, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be added down the line, Parker said.
Parker said Harris’ property would be exempt from the fee if there was an active development application or if he demolished the building. He also noted that this is not the final iteration of the program, and things will likely change throughout the year.
“We’re going to have a more nuanced system as we build out and learn more,” Parker said.
Harris, for his part, said the entire ordeal is disheartening.
“I understand why they don’t want vacant buildings, but if that’s the case, they need to work with owners on making them not vacant,” he said. “Because right now they’re not helping anybody.”
Harris agrees it doesn’t make sense to start construction when Lakewood will have to tear up his land again, but he argues developers can work around that and avoid building where the pipe will go.
“It’s not like it’s going to be a little pipe,” he said. “It’s going to be a major construction project and all they have to do is say this is where it’s going,” he said. “We could move forward with improving the site.”
The building at 1565 Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood. (Maia Luem/BusinessDen)
The City of Lakewood is sending its first bills to owners of vacant commercial buildings, but at least one property owner is confused about if he’ll be getting one.
Jamie Harris owns a dozen shopping centers around the Denver area, including one on 2 acres at the corner of Colfax and Wadsworth. A large portion of it used to hold the clothing bank The Action Center, but the nonprofit relocated in December.
Harris has owned the 1565 Wadsworth Blvd. property for 20 years.
“I want to tear down the property and improve it, but the city is standing in my way,” Harris said.
In three years, Harris said he’s had six different contracts drawn up for firms that would redevelop the site. Three wanted to do gas stations, another a car wash and two were interested in building apartments.
But each time, Harris said, the city shot them down because his entire property sits in the floodplain. Lakewood has a solution for that: the North Dry Gulch project, which has been in the works since 2008 and will address floodplain issues across the West Colfax corridor. Construction for the first phase of the plan started last month.
“There is hope. That work is getting done, but it will take years,” Harris said.
His property will be addressed during the third phase, when Lakewood plans to build a culvert across his property and three others. But that isn’t slated to start until fall 2025, according to a Lakewood official, and plans aren’t finalized yet.
And now Harris is facing another issue – Lakewood’s vacant property fee. Last month, the city passed an ordinance that, with some exceptions, charges owners of vacant buildings a $700 registration fee every six months, and an additional $800 fine if emergency services are called to the property.
Harris was unaware of the program until BusinessDen reported it was approved in January, coincidentally using a picture of his property.
Lakewood Planning Director Travis Parker said the city has flagged 17 vacant buildings so far, and those owners will be notified of the fee by early next week. So far, properties have been added to the list when their owners report them, or through complaints received from neighbors.
Harris’ property is not on the city’s list of vacant properties, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be added down the line, Parker said.
Parker said Harris’ property would be exempt from the fee if there was an active development application or if he demolished the building. He also noted that this is not the final iteration of the program, and things will likely change throughout the year.
“We’re going to have a more nuanced system as we build out and learn more,” Parker said.
Harris, for his part, said the entire ordeal is disheartening.
“I understand why they don’t want vacant buildings, but if that’s the case, they need to work with owners on making them not vacant,” he said. “Because right now they’re not helping anybody.”
Harris agrees it doesn’t make sense to start construction when Lakewood will have to tear up his land again, but he argues developers can work around that and avoid building where the pipe will go.
“It’s not like it’s going to be a little pipe,” he said. “It’s going to be a major construction project and all they have to do is say this is where it’s going,” he said. “We could move forward with improving the site.”
