Kenneth Monfort, left, and Matt Runyon of Monfort Cos. stand in the former El Chapultepec building on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Denver developer Kenneth Monfort hosted media outlets at the former El Chapultepec building in LoDo on Tuesday, two weeks after a city nonprofit launched a bid to force preservation of the structure.
Monfort, who wants to demolish the structure, told BusinessDen he wasn’t necessarily attempting to persuade, but “more so trying to show people what we’ve learned about the building.”
El Chapultepec, a jazz club, operated at the corner of 20th and Market for 87 years before closing in late 2020. Monfort Cos., which Kenneth Monfort leads, purchased the structure and an adjacent one in late 2022.
Monfort wants to demolish the Pec building and essentially turn it into the patio of a concept that will also incorporate the neighboring structure, currently home to the Giggling Grizzly sports bar. It would be his third project on the block, joining Riot House and Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row.
But as Monfort was preparing to go public with his plans two weeks ago, Historic Denver made public his desire for demolition. The preservation-minded nonprofit filed an application asking the city to name the structure a city landmark, which would effectively prevent demolition.
Most landmark applications are filed after a city-mandated mediation session involving the applicants and the property owner. But mediation wasn’t required in this case because Monfort hadn’t technically filed for demolition yet, according to a city spokeswoman.
The application is “forcing us to play defense, when we’re trying to do right by the neighborhood,” Monfort said Tuesday. He said bringing life to a dark corner will help an area that has at times struggled with crime.
El Chapultepec operated for 87 years at the corner of 20th and Market before closing in 2020. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Monfort and Matt Runyon, an executive with the company, emphasized that both the Whiskey Row and Riot House redevelopments involved partially preserving existing structures.
“We have a willingness and an ability to preserve these historic buildings … we came into this with an open mind,” Runyon said.
The issue is that the Pec building is “in far worse condition,” Runyon said. That’s in part due to unpermitted work that nightclub operator Hussam Kayali, who goes by Valentes Corleons, did on the structure after the jazz club closed, when he leased the building from its previous owner.
“We’re operating from a perspective where it’s a compromised building … The degradation that took place between 2020 and now has been exponential,” Monfort said.
On hand during the media availability Tuesday was Steve Horner of HCDA Engineering, which was hired by Monfort Cos. and wrote in a report that the following components of the structure “will require complete reconstruction”: significant portions of the exterior walls, the entire roof framing area, the majority of the second-floor framing and the entire existing main floor.
Monfort and Runyon said they don’t believe it’s possible to keep the walls standing — that they would crumble if they were shored up so work could be performed on the building’s foundation.
Temporary support columns that Monfort Cos. said the building’s previous owner installed after a city review of unpermitted work in the building. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
At the end of last week, Monfort and Runyon gave a tour of the building to Historic Denver CEO John Deffenbaugh — the key figure standing in the way of the firm’s plans.
Monfort called the tour “cordial.” Deffenbaugh acknowledged the somewhat-awkward dynamic.
“In this sort of situation, it really is what it is,” Deffenbaugh said.
Deffenbaugh told BusinessDen that Historic Denver brought its own structural engineer to the tour, and he’s expecting the engineer’s assessment later this week. He noted that HCDA’s report, while noting the need for significant reconstruction, doesn’t actually say the structure needs to be demolished.
Deffenbaugh reiterated that the organization believes the building should be preserved in some fashion and that Historic Denver is open to a “happy middle ground” of some sort.
“The ball is very much in the property owner’s court,” he said.
Deffenbaugh said the organization has pointed out multiple other structures around town that were preserved and incorporated into larger projects, such as the former firehouse where Woodie Fisher Kitchen & Bar operates as part of a hotel, and the ex-train depot that is incorporated into a senior living facility in Riverfront Park.
Monfort Cos. incorporated existing structures into their Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row and Riot House projects on the same block. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Deffenbaugh said Historic Denver’s “Save the Pec” petition has garnered about 725 signatures since going live earlier this month. He expects the Landmark Preservation Commission to consider the organization’s application in early May.
Historic Denver also helped preserve the 601 E. Colfax Ave. structure that once housed Tom’s Diner. It was renovated but now sits vacant after cocktail-centric Tom’s Starlight closed last year.
Monfort said he sees Tom’s Diner as a cautionary tale.
“We’re staring down the barrel of the same situation here,” Monfort said.
Deffenbaugh, meanwhile, called Tom’s Diner “a huge success story.” He said the vacancy reflects a failure of the new restaurant concept, not the building, and that he hopes it has a new tenant soon.
Asked by BusinessDen if his last name is working against him — Monfort’s father and uncle are majority owners of the Colorado Rockies — Kenneth Monfort said it is “not harming, but I think it’s shining a spotlight.”
No one sought to name the El Chapultepec building a landmark when the business closed or when the unpermitted work was done, he noted.
“It wasn’t until we got involved that this became a conversation piece,” Monfort said.
Kenneth Monfort, left, and Matt Runyon of Monfort Cos. stand in the former El Chapultepec building on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Denver developer Kenneth Monfort hosted media outlets at the former El Chapultepec building in LoDo on Tuesday, two weeks after a city nonprofit launched a bid to force preservation of the structure.
Monfort, who wants to demolish the structure, told BusinessDen he wasn’t necessarily attempting to persuade, but “more so trying to show people what we’ve learned about the building.”
El Chapultepec, a jazz club, operated at the corner of 20th and Market for 87 years before closing in late 2020. Monfort Cos., which Kenneth Monfort leads, purchased the structure and an adjacent one in late 2022.
Monfort wants to demolish the Pec building and essentially turn it into the patio of a concept that will also incorporate the neighboring structure, currently home to the Giggling Grizzly sports bar. It would be his third project on the block, joining Riot House and Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row.
But as Monfort was preparing to go public with his plans two weeks ago, Historic Denver made public his desire for demolition. The preservation-minded nonprofit filed an application asking the city to name the structure a city landmark, which would effectively prevent demolition.
Most landmark applications are filed after a city-mandated mediation session involving the applicants and the property owner. But mediation wasn’t required in this case because Monfort hadn’t technically filed for demolition yet, according to a city spokeswoman.
The application is “forcing us to play defense, when we’re trying to do right by the neighborhood,” Monfort said Tuesday. He said bringing life to a dark corner will help an area that has at times struggled with crime.
El Chapultepec operated for 87 years at the corner of 20th and Market before closing in 2020. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Monfort and Matt Runyon, an executive with the company, emphasized that both the Whiskey Row and Riot House redevelopments involved partially preserving existing structures.
“We have a willingness and an ability to preserve these historic buildings … we came into this with an open mind,” Runyon said.
The issue is that the Pec building is “in far worse condition,” Runyon said. That’s in part due to unpermitted work that nightclub operator Hussam Kayali, who goes by Valentes Corleons, did on the structure after the jazz club closed, when he leased the building from its previous owner.
“We’re operating from a perspective where it’s a compromised building … The degradation that took place between 2020 and now has been exponential,” Monfort said.
On hand during the media availability Tuesday was Steve Horner of HCDA Engineering, which was hired by Monfort Cos. and wrote in a report that the following components of the structure “will require complete reconstruction”: significant portions of the exterior walls, the entire roof framing area, the majority of the second-floor framing and the entire existing main floor.
Monfort and Runyon said they don’t believe it’s possible to keep the walls standing — that they would crumble if they were shored up so work could be performed on the building’s foundation.
Temporary support columns that Monfort Cos. said the building’s previous owner installed after a city review of unpermitted work in the building. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
At the end of last week, Monfort and Runyon gave a tour of the building to Historic Denver CEO John Deffenbaugh — the key figure standing in the way of the firm’s plans.
Monfort called the tour “cordial.” Deffenbaugh acknowledged the somewhat-awkward dynamic.
“In this sort of situation, it really is what it is,” Deffenbaugh said.
Deffenbaugh told BusinessDen that Historic Denver brought its own structural engineer to the tour, and he’s expecting the engineer’s assessment later this week. He noted that HCDA’s report, while noting the need for significant reconstruction, doesn’t actually say the structure needs to be demolished.
Deffenbaugh reiterated that the organization believes the building should be preserved in some fashion and that Historic Denver is open to a “happy middle ground” of some sort.
“The ball is very much in the property owner’s court,” he said.
Deffenbaugh said the organization has pointed out multiple other structures around town that were preserved and incorporated into larger projects, such as the former firehouse where Woodie Fisher Kitchen & Bar operates as part of a hotel, and the ex-train depot that is incorporated into a senior living facility in Riverfront Park.
Monfort Cos. incorporated existing structures into their Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row and Riot House projects on the same block. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Deffenbaugh said Historic Denver’s “Save the Pec” petition has garnered about 725 signatures since going live earlier this month. He expects the Landmark Preservation Commission to consider the organization’s application in early May.
Historic Denver also helped preserve the 601 E. Colfax Ave. structure that once housed Tom’s Diner. It was renovated but now sits vacant after cocktail-centric Tom’s Starlight closed last year.
Monfort said he sees Tom’s Diner as a cautionary tale.
“We’re staring down the barrel of the same situation here,” Monfort said.
Deffenbaugh, meanwhile, called Tom’s Diner “a huge success story.” He said the vacancy reflects a failure of the new restaurant concept, not the building, and that he hopes it has a new tenant soon.
Asked by BusinessDen if his last name is working against him — Monfort’s father and uncle are majority owners of the Colorado Rockies — Kenneth Monfort said it is “not harming, but I think it’s shining a spotlight.”
No one sought to name the El Chapultepec building a landmark when the business closed or when the unpermitted work was done, he noted.
“It wasn’t until we got involved that this became a conversation piece,” Monfort said.
