The view from the parking lot at 2000 Blake St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
Ron Silva had hoped that his parking lot across from Coors Field would look a little different this Opening Day.
Instead, the CEO of San Francisco-based Fillmore Capital Partners is frustrated.
“There’s nothing the city is trying to do to help us create a temporary venue that could be very popular in the front gate of their stadium,” he said. “That’s a pivotal part of the community.”
Ron Silva
Silva’s firm bought the 0.29-acre lot at 2000 Blake St. in 2019 for $4.4 million. It got the site rezoned in 2022 with the intent on building an eight-story project, but Silva told BusinessDen last year those plans had been pushed back due to market conditions.
In the meantime, Silva wanted to install temporary shipping containers on the site that would be used by retail, food, entertainment and liquor vendors. He anticipated investing $3 million on that.
Silva had hoped to be up and running by the Colorado Rockies’ first home game of this season — today. This week he said he’s spent $300,000 on plans, but is still nowhere near getting the containers on his lot. Silva said he’s tired of running in circles with the city staff that review development plans.
“Denver is a beautiful city, it has so much to offer,” Silva said. “It’s a shame the policy makers and the people that are supposed to run the government and the basic services don’t do a very good job.”
Silva said Fillmore has submitted numerous design plans that the city has commented on, but there hasn’t been much progress.
“I don’t in my heart of hearts think it’s about a wall or a color or a street or where you put your dumpsters,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any of that. I just don’t think there’s an active participant on one side of the equation.”
Silva said he hasn’t been able to get an in-person meeting with any city staffers to talk about the plans and what is preventing them from being approved. He still wants to get the container concept rolled out, but said he’s not going to spend any more money on plans until he can get a meeting.
“I’m not going to guess at this,” Silva said. “It’s unfair to ask somebody to throw money on something when you don’t know what that something is.”
Drawings of a possible layout of the shopping container project provided this week. (Courtesy Fillmore Capital Partners)
In the meantime, however, the lot won’t just host cars this season. Silva said Denver’s Handsome Boys Hospitality will be doing “pop-ups” on big game days and holidays.
For opening day, owner of Handsome Boys Josh Schmitz said the group will host a parking lot party. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with food from chef Diana Flores’ food truck Gallo Pinto, live music and a DJ.
Schmitz said plans for other events this year aren’t set in stone yet, but he’s hoping the events will bring people back downtown and “shift the mindset” that it’s unsafe.
“Looking forward, it’s a great opportunity and location to activate downtown into something else besides an empty lot,” Schmitz said.
Silva said that the atmosphere around Coors Field the stadium is all the more important when the Rockies are struggling. The team lost a franchise-record number of games this year and have started this season 1-6.
“We’re doing this to help the sentiment of the Rockies, which, from everything I read, is not very strong,” Silva said. “Shouldn’t the neighborhood and the community try to get the spirit and attendance up?”
Silva said he’s committed to building something at 2000 Blake St. — eventually.
“We have to pick and choose our battles,” Silva said. “We’re long-term holders of that property and trying to make it work.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a more current drawing of the proposed shipping container project.
The view from the parking lot at 2000 Blake St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
Ron Silva had hoped that his parking lot across from Coors Field would look a little different this Opening Day.
Instead, the CEO of San Francisco-based Fillmore Capital Partners is frustrated.
“There’s nothing the city is trying to do to help us create a temporary venue that could be very popular in the front gate of their stadium,” he said. “That’s a pivotal part of the community.”
Ron Silva
Silva’s firm bought the 0.29-acre lot at 2000 Blake St. in 2019 for $4.4 million. It got the site rezoned in 2022 with the intent on building an eight-story project, but Silva told BusinessDen last year those plans had been pushed back due to market conditions.
In the meantime, Silva wanted to install temporary shipping containers on the site that would be used by retail, food, entertainment and liquor vendors. He anticipated investing $3 million on that.
Silva had hoped to be up and running by the Colorado Rockies’ first home game of this season — today. This week he said he’s spent $300,000 on plans, but is still nowhere near getting the containers on his lot. Silva said he’s tired of running in circles with the city staff that review development plans.
“Denver is a beautiful city, it has so much to offer,” Silva said. “It’s a shame the policy makers and the people that are supposed to run the government and the basic services don’t do a very good job.”
Silva said Fillmore has submitted numerous design plans that the city has commented on, but there hasn’t been much progress.
“I don’t in my heart of hearts think it’s about a wall or a color or a street or where you put your dumpsters,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any of that. I just don’t think there’s an active participant on one side of the equation.”
Silva said he hasn’t been able to get an in-person meeting with any city staffers to talk about the plans and what is preventing them from being approved. He still wants to get the container concept rolled out, but said he’s not going to spend any more money on plans until he can get a meeting.
“I’m not going to guess at this,” Silva said. “It’s unfair to ask somebody to throw money on something when you don’t know what that something is.”
Drawings of a possible layout of the shopping container project provided this week. (Courtesy Fillmore Capital Partners)
In the meantime, however, the lot won’t just host cars this season. Silva said Denver’s Handsome Boys Hospitality will be doing “pop-ups” on big game days and holidays.
For opening day, owner of Handsome Boys Josh Schmitz said the group will host a parking lot party. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with food from chef Diana Flores’ food truck Gallo Pinto, live music and a DJ.
Schmitz said plans for other events this year aren’t set in stone yet, but he’s hoping the events will bring people back downtown and “shift the mindset” that it’s unsafe.
“Looking forward, it’s a great opportunity and location to activate downtown into something else besides an empty lot,” Schmitz said.
Silva said that the atmosphere around Coors Field the stadium is all the more important when the Rockies are struggling. The team lost a franchise-record number of games this year and have started this season 1-6.
“We’re doing this to help the sentiment of the Rockies, which, from everything I read, is not very strong,” Silva said. “Shouldn’t the neighborhood and the community try to get the spirit and attendance up?”
Silva said he’s committed to building something at 2000 Blake St. — eventually.
“We have to pick and choose our battles,” Silva said. “We’re long-term holders of that property and trying to make it work.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a more current drawing of the proposed shipping container project.
