🏙️ One developer’s big crazy idea for downtown

🛑 Denver Poised to Unmask ICE

After Mayor Mike Johnston signaled support for the proposal last week, all 13 members of Denver City Council cast a preliminary vote in favor of a proposal to ban face coverings for all law enforcement officers, including ICE and Border Patrol. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying it does not plan to abide by the ban, calling it “despicable” and “unconstitutional.” [Denver Post 🔒]

🏗️ Revamping an Entire Downtown Block

Asher Luzzatto, a real estate developer who has been buying up property across the Denver metro recently, submitted plans to convert two office buildings he bought for $3.2 million last year (621 and 633 17th St., aka High Fidelity Plaza) into more than 700 residential units, as well as “a daycare, children's museum, a bookstore/library, a cafe, bakery, a market, co-working spaces, a rooftop pool and deck and, frankly, a lot more.” Luzzatto anticipates spending $300 million on the renovation. [Denver Business Journal 🔒]

💡 Our Biggest, Craziest Ideas for Downtown

Two years ago, in the ancient past before Mayor Johnston really set to work revitalizing downtown, one of our favorite podcast contributors Justine Sandoval joined us to brainstorm some of our own big ideas we’d like to see. So now that some of the mayor’s proposals have been rolling out, we’re revisiting that episode to see if he took our notes! [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🐘 Trump Dumps Colorado Republican

Rep. Jeff Hurd’s campaign for reelection in CD3 took a major blow this week, with President Trump revoking his endorsement over Hurd’s “lack of support” for the administration’s tariff policy. Trump instead endorsed Hurd’s Republican primary challenger Hope Scheppelman. [Denver Gazette 🔒]

⚖️ Family of Man Killed By Aurora PD Intends to Sue

An Aurora police officer shot and killed 37-year-old Rajon Belt-Stubblefield following a traffic stop near I-225 and Sixth Avenue last August. His family held a press conference Monday announcing two lawsuits alleging emotional distress and wrongful death and asking for $20 million. Aurora PD says the department is still investigating the incident, while the officer has returned to full duty. [Denver7]

Apartment vacancies are up, rent is down, and construction is slowing. Is Denver on the precipice of another boom-to-bust cycle? Mayor Mike Johnston, for one, thinks so. But is there a way to strike a balance somewhere in the middle?

“Denver might be in trouble a little bit,” host Bree Davies said on the City Cast Denver podcast recently. “Right before that 2010 boom for Denver, sh*t was so cheap. It was great. You could have an apartment you could afford. I worked at Chili’s and could live downtown. ... It changed the whole morale of how people felt about Denver.”

But we wanted to hear what actual renters had to say about the current cost of rent in the city ⬇️

“There is a South Park episode about this. Season 19, Episode 3 ‘The City Part of Town’ featuring SoDoSoPa. You’re welcome.” — @matthewrpatterson

“In 2009 my 2 bed 1 bath with a balcony and fireplace in wash park was $950 per month and i will never forget it.” — @notthatalyway

“Coming from NYC and Boston, it’s much cheaper here for what you get. I have never had a dishwasher, central air, or in-unit washer/dryer until now.” — @kaymere718

“I have been selling real estate in the city for 25+ years. I used to love my job. I felt like I was helping people stabilize their rents by purchasing instead. Keeping artists in the city and helping them build wealth. Now I feel like part of the problem.” — @emheartsdenver

“I moved here from Manhattan a year ago. … What gets me is the wage doesn’t match the cost-of-living, at least in Manhattan I was getting paid double what I make here.” — @uptown.sbrown