Council has approved the request for the property in the tony Cherry Creek North neighborhood, located about three miles east of the CBD. Council had signed off on the zoning change shortly after midnight. The 110-foot office building will serve as the new headquarters for mutual fund giant Janus Capital Corp. and a four-star, 130-foot hotel. Until the vote, zoning had restricted building heights to 55 feet. Several taller structures, ranging from 85 feet to 110 feet, in the development area had been grandfathered when the ordinance had been enacted.

The decision had come on the heels of four hours of public debate. Ten council members had endorsed the change for the $100-million development plan while one abstained and another had recused herself because her attorney son is representing the proposal's opposition.

A common thread prevailed on both sides. Proponents say the $100-million redevelopment plan by Denver-based Nichols Development is the best of about a half dozen proposals that have been floated over the years. They said the area desperately needs a hotel and they want to keep Janus in the neighborhood. An executive for Janus says he wanted to dispel rumors that the mutual fund isn't serious about moving into the building. Proponents also had claimed the opportunity for a hotel project would be lost if the council decided against the zoning change. Sears also has a "right by use" that is just as dense as the zoning change.

An executive from the Taubman Co., which owns the 1.2 million-sf Cherry Creek mall across the street, spoke in favor of the rezoning. A real estate executive from Sears flew in from its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, IL, to lend support. He says Sears had a store there since 1950s and had long considered it "surplus land" to be redeveloped. Several years ago, Sears had expected quick approval on what they thought would be a simple plan of selling off the 9.5-acre site as separate pads. "We quickly found out nothing is simple in Cherry Creek," he had countered.

Opponents say they are skeptical that the hotel will be built. Instead, they fear the building will end up being a luxury high-rise condominium. Richard "Buzz" Geller, who lives in nearby Country Club, said that it would take $15 million in equity for a $30 million hotel, and room rates won't be enough to support the debt payment of $113,000 each month.

Jeff Selby, one of the Denver developers of the hotel, disagrees, saying he is confident financing can be had and room rates will be far higher than the $125 per night average rate.

Many association members had claimed their representative groups, which had publicly supported it, had never asked them about the plan. Those residents had cited traffic concerns as their primary fear, claiming the upscale area will take on the look of the downtown or the nearby premier office park, Denver Technological Center.

Instant Insights /

$100-Mil Sears Redevelopment Snags Council OK

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