The owner of the land at Interstate 25 and Broadway, Cherokee Denver LLC has hired the contractor to complete $126 million in infrastructure work for the $1-billion-plus transit-oriented development--contingent upon city council's approval of the TIF package. Cherokee is still cleaning up the Brownfield site, which eventually will have several million sf of commercial properties, including buildings as tall as 14 stories, retail, hotels and high-density residential.

At last week's first reading, councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie cast the only dissenting vote to the plan. In an interesting twist, the blighted site is in her district. Other council members appeared somewhat perplexed by her lone dissent. The plan and subsidy even received support from a grassroots and labor-connected group, the Campaign for Responsible Development, which in the past had been somewhat antagonistic and skeptical about the development.

One thing that the group points out is Kiewit Building Group is a union contractor. In its words, it says Kiewit has a "strong record of good wages, healthcare and retirement benefits, local hiring and high-quality skills and safety training." Kiewit received support from group members from the Sheetmetal Workers Local 9, Construction Trades Council and Rocky Mountain Regional Council of Carpenters.

In addition, the Campaign for Responsible Development lauds Cherokee for an agreement with the city that it says excludes "low-road, big box grocery stores like super Wal-Mart," which it claims is "destroying good jobs in the grocery industry with poverty wages and inadequate healthcare." A Wal-Mart spokesman in the past says its wages are competitive and its healthcare benefits better than most retailers.

The grassroots group also says Cherokee and the city have crafted a "landmark affordable housing plan" that exceeds the inclusionary housing ordinance, which requires new developments with 30 or more units to have a 10% affordable component. The redevelopment agreement for the Gates site includes hundreds of affordable rental units targeting Denver's greatest need-- renters at 50% and 30% of the area's annual median income.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Council Poised for Final Action on $85M TIF Request

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