Leaders in the Golden Triangle have been surprised to learn that when the existing Denver City Jail - which had been in the Golden Triangle long before the neighborhood south of the CBD had that name - ultimately will be replaced with a 300-bed work-release facility.
For years, the city has wanted to build a one million-sf, $300-million jail facility, but it has had difficulties in finding 17 acres within the city that neighbors haven't fought. And it's the voters who decide whether to fund a new jail.
One line in a city "Request for Information" notice for developers, who wish to learn more about the jail, noted the 300-work release facility would replace the jail when it's built. "When it comes down to it, I'd rather have a jail than the largest halfway house in the state in our backyard," says Janis Frame, who owns a bookstore and a condominium in the Golden Triangle. "There are developers here who just paid $64 per sf for land in the Golden Triangle and they are not going to be too happy." New lofts and condominiums in the Triangle sell are selling from about $250 per sf to $300 per sf.
Developer Bruce Berger, the largest landowner in the Golden Triangle, says he was unaware of the new plans for the jail space and predicts when the word gets out, most people who live and work there will be unhappy.
Marjorie Hicks, executive director of the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association, says city council had adopted the plans for the work-release facility without the neighborhood knowing about it. "I'm quite sure that when people learn about it, the general feeling will be to oppose it," Hicks told GlobeSt.com.
Liz Orr, who heads the city's efforts for the new jail, says in the past most of the controversy about the jail has been about where it would be built not the fate of the current jail. She says the change in the jail has been part of the overall plan for several years. The new use for the existing jail, she says, makes sense because of the availability of bus and light rail lines to the downtown and its hot job market. She emphasizes the existing building is extremely solid and is part of the Police Administration Building so there's always a large number of officers readily available, making it more secure than the typical halfway house. "There are some really sound reasons why the plans are the way they are," Orr told GlobeSt.com. "But we want to hear what the concerns are." Public forums most likely loom in the future.
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