Denver Water drops bid to acquire properties near Burnham Yard

Denver Water has told the owners of nearly two dozen parcels near its campus that it is no longer interested in acquiring their properties.

“Denver Water informed the remaining property owners who originally received the letter of intent to acquire know that we are no longer pursuing the acquisition of their property,” spokesman Travis Thompson said in an email.

The utility sent out letters in April and May expressing an interest in purchasing 23 parcels covering 18 acres near its campus at 1600 W. 12th St. At the time, Denver Water didn’t provide a reason for why it wanted the land. But behind the scenes, the utility was hammering out a deal with the Denver Broncos to sell 25 acres of its 36-acre campus.

The Broncos need the land to accommodate a new stadium and surrounding mixed-use development at Burnham Yard, a 58-acre rail yard operated by the Union Pacific for more than 150 years until it closed in 2016. The Colorado Department of Transportation owns the yard in the La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood and plans to sell it to the Broncos.

Denver Water did acquire a parcel at 1801 W. 13th Ave. for $2 million, a cost the team will reimburse. The city has also identified a parcel near Empower Field that could be part of the relocation.

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Most operations, aside from the administrative headquarters, will be relocated to a large chunk of land between Josephine and Clayton streets and East 40th Avenue and the light rail tracks. The addresses involved include 2525, 2535 and 2577 E. 40th Ave. and 4235 N. Columbine St.

"We believe this site not only meets our needs of having our critical operations in one location, but also provides us with an opportunity to enhance our services to the community, since we don’t currently have a distribution presence in the northeast corridor of the city," Thompson said in an earlier email.

Denver Water is still in the process of purchasing the parcels, one of which housed a large AT&T warehouse, and will submit the request to its board.

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Charlotte Elich, owner of three stores called 5 Green Boxes, said she was thrilled when she received an email stating Denver Water was no longer interested in the 6,500-square-foot warehouse at 1965 W. 12th Place that she and her sister purchased in 2017.

The initial letters left owners in the area anxious that they could lose their properties to eminent domain, Elich said. Some started planning an exit strategy, while others prepared to hold out for as long as they could.

"I am more than happy they rescinded all of that stuff. But somebody has to reimburse us for going through all these hoops," she said.

An appraisal came back with a value that was three times higher than what Denver Water offered on her warehouse, Elich said. She also hired an attorney to plot a strategy in case the utility tried to claim the land. Some of her neighbors had been searching for places to relocate to.

Denver Water, as a public entity, has the right to condemn land for its use, and its initial outreach was described as "voluntary." But state law prohibits using eminent domain for economic development purposes or to benefit a private entity.

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