Brad Eide had expected to be building apartments by now.
In March, the city of Denver finally signed off on his development plans for a large apartment project in Lincoln Park. His financing lined up, the president and CEO of Elevate Cos. prepared to break ground.
Then, he heard from Denver Water — and everything changed.
“We were slated to be in construction last month. We’re sitting here in purgatory,” Eide said last week.
Eide is one of a host of property owners in Lincoln Park who received a “notice of intent to acquire” from the municipal water utility this spring, with attached materials referencing the eminent domain process.
The move appears linked to Denver Water’s ongoing discussions with the Denver Broncos, which look to have zeroed in on building a new stadium at Burnham Yard, a shuttered state-owned railyard. (The team says it is still considering multiple options, including staying at Empower Field at Mile High.)
Most of the 23 properties spanning 14 acres that got notices from Denver Water have warehouses or other industrial buildings on them. Eide’s two parcels — 1280 Umatilla St. and 1820 W. 13th Ave. — are unique in that they’re undeveloped but were poised to become a construction site.
“That was a hard pill to swallow,” Eide said of receiving the notice, which “railroaded” his financing.
Denver Water’s headquarters loom over 1280 Umatilla St. and 1820 W. 13th Ave., where Brad Eide’s Elevate Cos. planned to construct an apartment building. (BusinessDen file)
Eide had already been frustrated even before hearing from Denver Water. He had expected the city’s review process for his apartment building to take 14 to 16 months. Instead, approval took 2 1/2 years. Other projects he’s pursuing in the city limits have encountered the same.
“I haven’t seen so much bureaucracy and inefficiency … in almost 20 years of doing this,” said Eide, who has also developed in other markets.
Denver Water spokesman Travis Thompson previously told BusinessDen that the agency is “just exploring some voluntary acquisitions of properties near our Operations Complex to meet future operational needs” and that the notices were sent “out of an abundance of caution.”
Eide, however, doesn’t see anything voluntary about a deal. He said Denver Water’s original notice offered him $7 million.
Eide purchased his 1.45-acre site in 2023 for $5.55 million, records show. He said he’s spent $11 million in total entitling the site for his project with 242 market-rate units and ground-floor retail space.
Eide said he believes the property is now worth in the “high teens.”
A rendering of the apartment building included in plans submitted to the city. (Public records)
Seeing a sale as inevitable, he attempted to make it a quick deal.
“We told them, ‘High teens, it’s yours.’ … We tried to get an arms-length transaction done, and we went under negotiation and those negotiations have stalled,” he said.
When that happened, Eide said, he got an independent appraisal, which he said supports his valuation. He doesn’t know what to expect next.
“They’ve kind of left us in the dark here,” he said of Denver Water.
Thompson, the Denver Water spokesman, told BusinessDen Monday that the agency is not under contract for any of the properties, but otherwise declined to discuss specifics or provide an update on the agency’s talks with the Broncos.
“We’re still not in a position to share details or discussions about these properties,” he said in an email
Eide’s development was one of two projects poised to bring residential units to an otherwise industrial stretch of Lincoln Park. The other project was to be at 1530 W. 13th Ave., closer to Burnham Yard.
That site has already sold — to the Broncos.
Gift shop owner: ‘You can’t disrupt everybody’s plans and lives’
Charlotte Elich was already focusing on moving her 25-year-old store, 5 Green Boxes, within Platt Park. Denver Water’s notice of intent to acquire her warehouse was the bow on top.
“It’s just a lot of upheaval in my world,” she said.
Elich has owned the 6,500-square-foot building at 1965 W. 12th Place since 2017, when records show she bought it for $940,000. Since then, it has been the behind-the-scenes hub of her bohemian gift store, which opened in 2000 and also has a location in Union Station.
The warehouse stores yet-to-be-sold furniture, clothes and knickknacks and has been used for occasional workshops and flash sales. For the past few months, Elich and her daughter Ariel have been working with an architect on plans to turn it into more of a venue that could host live music or office parties.
Denver Water’s notice put all that on hold.
“You can’t disrupt everybody’s plans and lives,” Elich said of her and her neighbors. “We’re devastated. We all thought we had a little niche area.”
Ariel Elich told BusinessDen that Denver Water’s original offer was $1.3 million, about half of the $2.5 million to $3 million she and her mother think the 0.36-acre parcel is worth.
Charlotte Elich said she’s waiting to hear back from an appraiser and working with an eminent domain lawyer. She said she opted to buy in the area nearly a decade ago in part because Denver Water was building a new headquarters building.
She thought the project, completed in 2019, would be a catalyst for an up-and-coming area.
“That just made me think, in a way, it’s cool that there’s going to be a lot going on here,” she said. “Little did I know they’d want more.”
BusinessDen staffer Max Scheinblum contributed reporting.
Read more: Broncos buying around possible Denver stadium site
Read more: Broncos, Denver Water talking about agency’s land near possible stadium site
Read more: Broncos must build income-restricted housing after $7M deal by Burnham Yard
Read more: Amid Broncos talks, Denver Water tells neighbors it ‘intends’ to buy their property
MAP: In this interactive map, properties in blue are those that were sent a “Notice of Intent to Acquire” by Denver Water. The large property in yellow is owned by Denver Water. The large property in green is Burnham Yard. Boundaries are approximate.
Brad Eide had expected to be building apartments by now.
In March, the city of Denver finally signed off on his development plans for a large apartment project in Lincoln Park. His financing lined up, the president and CEO of Elevate Cos. prepared to break ground.
Then, he heard from Denver Water — and everything changed.
“We were slated to be in construction last month. We’re sitting here in purgatory,” Eide said last week.
Eide is one of a host of property owners in Lincoln Park who received a “notice of intent to acquire” from the municipal water utility this spring, with attached materials referencing the eminent domain process.
The move appears linked to Denver Water’s ongoing discussions with the Denver Broncos, which look to have zeroed in on building a new stadium at Burnham Yard, a shuttered state-owned railyard. (The team says it is still considering multiple options, including staying at Empower Field at Mile High.)
Most of the 23 properties spanning 14 acres that got notices from Denver Water have warehouses or other industrial buildings on them. Eide’s two parcels — 1280 Umatilla St. and 1820 W. 13th Ave. — are unique in that they’re undeveloped but were poised to become a construction site.
“That was a hard pill to swallow,” Eide said of receiving the notice, which “railroaded” his financing.
Denver Water’s headquarters loom over 1280 Umatilla St. and 1820 W. 13th Ave., where Brad Eide’s Elevate Cos. planned to construct an apartment building. (BusinessDen file)
Eide had already been frustrated even before hearing from Denver Water. He had expected the city’s review process for his apartment building to take 14 to 16 months. Instead, approval took 2 1/2 years. Other projects he’s pursuing in the city limits have encountered the same.
“I haven’t seen so much bureaucracy and inefficiency … in almost 20 years of doing this,” said Eide, who has also developed in other markets.
Denver Water spokesman Travis Thompson previously told BusinessDen that the agency is “just exploring some voluntary acquisitions of properties near our Operations Complex to meet future operational needs” and that the notices were sent “out of an abundance of caution.”
Eide, however, doesn’t see anything voluntary about a deal. He said Denver Water’s original notice offered him $7 million.
Eide purchased his 1.45-acre site in 2023 for $5.55 million, records show. He said he’s spent $11 million in total entitling the site for his project with 242 market-rate units and ground-floor retail space.
Eide said he believes the property is now worth in the “high teens.”
A rendering of the apartment building included in plans submitted to the city. (Public records)
Seeing a sale as inevitable, he attempted to make it a quick deal.
“We told them, ‘High teens, it’s yours.’ … We tried to get an arms-length transaction done, and we went under negotiation and those negotiations have stalled,” he said.
When that happened, Eide said, he got an independent appraisal, which he said supports his valuation. He doesn’t know what to expect next.
“They’ve kind of left us in the dark here,” he said of Denver Water.
Thompson, the Denver Water spokesman, told BusinessDen Monday that the agency is not under contract for any of the properties, but otherwise declined to discuss specifics or provide an update on the agency’s talks with the Broncos.
“We’re still not in a position to share details or discussions about these properties,” he said in an email
Eide’s development was one of two projects poised to bring residential units to an otherwise industrial stretch of Lincoln Park. The other project was to be at 1530 W. 13th Ave., closer to Burnham Yard.
That site has already sold — to the Broncos.
Gift shop owner: ‘You can’t disrupt everybody’s plans and lives’
Charlotte Elich was already focusing on moving her 25-year-old store, 5 Green Boxes, within Platt Park. Denver Water’s notice of intent to acquire her warehouse was the bow on top.
“It’s just a lot of upheaval in my world,” she said.
Elich has owned the 6,500-square-foot building at 1965 W. 12th Place since 2017, when records show she bought it for $940,000. Since then, it has been the behind-the-scenes hub of her bohemian gift store, which opened in 2000 and also has a location in Union Station.
The warehouse stores yet-to-be-sold furniture, clothes and knickknacks and has been used for occasional workshops and flash sales. For the past few months, Elich and her daughter Ariel have been working with an architect on plans to turn it into more of a venue that could host live music or office parties.
Denver Water’s notice put all that on hold.
“You can’t disrupt everybody’s plans and lives,” Elich said of her and her neighbors. “We’re devastated. We all thought we had a little niche area.”
Ariel Elich told BusinessDen that Denver Water’s original offer was $1.3 million, about half of the $2.5 million to $3 million she and her mother think the 0.36-acre parcel is worth.
Charlotte Elich said she’s waiting to hear back from an appraiser and working with an eminent domain lawyer. She said she opted to buy in the area nearly a decade ago in part because Denver Water was building a new headquarters building.
She thought the project, completed in 2019, would be a catalyst for an up-and-coming area.
“That just made me think, in a way, it’s cool that there’s going to be a lot going on here,” she said. “Little did I know they’d want more.”
BusinessDen staffer Max Scheinblum contributed reporting.
Read more: Broncos buying around possible Denver stadium site
Read more: Broncos, Denver Water talking about agency’s land near possible stadium site
Read more: Broncos must build income-restricted housing after $7M deal by Burnham Yard
Read more: Amid Broncos talks, Denver Water tells neighbors it ‘intends’ to buy their property
MAP: In this interactive map, properties in blue are those that were sent a “Notice of Intent to Acquire” by Denver Water. The large property in yellow is owned by Denver Water. The large property in green is Burnham Yard. Boundaries are approximate.
