🚧 Strip Mall Demolition Plan Sparks Outcry

🚧 Plan to Bulldoze Asia Center on Federal Stirs Controversy

A proposal to tear down the Asia Center on Federal Boulevard and replace it with a mixed-use, 33-unit apartment complex has stirred debate among Denverites. The strip mall houses a number of Vietnamese and Asian-owned businesses like Ba Le Sandwiches, Saigon Supermarket, and Star Kitchen. It’s also right next to the planned site of a stop on the bus rapid transit line CDOT is working to bring to the busy corridor. The current owners purchased the property in 2023 for $5.7 million shortly after the BRT project was announced. [Instagram; Reddit]

• Denverites respond: Katrina Nguyen, a local realtor whose family members owned a business in the shopping center, started a petition demanding a “more thoughtful and inclusive approach” to the project, and as of this writing it has already collected more than 4,000 signatures. “The proposed development not only erases physical spaces but disrespects the deeply-rooted connections that thousands of residents have with these businesses,” Nguyen writes. “We cannot just stand by and let this cultural landmark be replaced by soulless buildings.” [Change.org]

🎥 Alamo Drafthouse Honors Famous Denverite

The Sony-owned movie theater chain announced plans to rename its Littleton location in honor of Denver-raised actor Pam Grier. The East High School and MSU Denver graduate starred in films and TV shows like “The Big Doll House,” “Coffy,” “Foxy Brown,” and “Miami Vice,” and gained a whole new generation of fans as the star of Quinten Tarantino’s 1997 classic “Jackie Brown.” [9News]

🍃 Can Federal Rescheduling Save the Colorado Weed Scene?

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it would reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The number of registered medical marijuana patients in Colorado has dropped by 52% since 2014, and industry boosters hope the rescheduling might help declining medical sales bounce back. [Westword]

• Previously, Schedule I status blocked medical and recreational cannabis companies from filing for tax reductions and from doing business with the majority of financial institutions, denying them access to loans, bank accounts, and payment processing. [Westword]
• We spoke with former cannabis reporter and Grasslands CEO Ricardo Baca 2 years ago about what a rescheduling could mean for the weed scene in Denver. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🏗️ New Scrutiny On Denver Data Center Project

The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division recently asked CoreSite, the company behind the new data center campus under construction in Elyria-Swansea, to hold at least one public meeting about the project, per pollution rules governing such projects. CoreSite representatives were scheduled to appear at a packed public meeting in February, but didn’t show, citing safety concerns. [CPR]