CREJ

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14 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2017
Multi-family
Affordable
Mixed-Use
Senior Living
Education
Healthcare
Hospitality
Retail
303-777-7999
7 S. Galapago St.
Denver, CO 80223
From
foundations
to front doors
we are
building
better livesTM
since 1963
New Construction
Renovation
Commercial
Residential
I n December, in an Oakland warehouse
called the Ghost Ship, a fire broke out
during a live show. The fire spread quick-
ly; 36 people in the warehouse were killed.
The interior had been illegally and unsafely
modified to house an artist collective, includ-
ing living units and performance space. After
the tragedy, many pointed to the Bay Area’s af-
fordable housing crisis as the driver of unsafe,
underground spaces like this one.
Here in Denver, horrified, we did a gut-check.
Could it happen here? Real estate values are high
— not as high as the Bay Area, but high and climb-
ing. Still, as Denver’s economy continues to fire on
all cylinders, even our industrial areas and large
warehouses are in demand.
Yet, following the fire in Oakland, the Denver
Fire Department began to learn about a handful
of smaller-scale spaces in the River North neigh-
borhood occupied as group living spaces, live-
work, performance venues or some combination
of these. These spaces did not meet building and
fire code requirements, and we felt we had to act
to prevent a tragic outcome from happening here.
While city inspectors were able to avoid displacing
people from all but one of the sites, we had to re-
quire safety upgrades.
On the heels of these inspections, we heard the
anxiety from Denver’s creative community – in
group settings and one-on-one conversations. Peo-
ple feared being displaced. People are living in un-
permitted buildings and doing work that isn’t up
to code because they’re drawn to the city but run-
ning out of options in it, they told us. It’s no secret:
Rent is too damn high.
And that’s a problem. We want Denver’s art and
DIY spaces to thrive. They infuse character, depth
and beauty into our neighborhoods. The River
North Art District, which was born from the cre-
ative community, should be able to retain its cre-
ative community.
The events of last winter drove home the idea
that we as a city need to find new ways to make it
safer, easier and less expensive for people to stay
in place.
We understand that hard costs – and perception
of a cumbersome process – have led many spaces
to forego permits in the first place. So we set out to
codify a path that would prioritize life safety and
emphasize collaborative problem solving.
Brad Buchanan
Executive
Director,
Denver
Community
Planning
and Devel-
opment
Considering Community