Denver plans to buy a closed strip club for $1.3M
A now-shuttered East Colfax strip club that was the site of a murder two years ago could get new life under a proposal that calls for the city to buy the property for $1.3 million and line up redevelopment.
PT’s II, long regarded as a neighborhood nuisance, was shut down in the past year. Once the city selects a developer later this year, the 7,500-square-foot building could be torn down to make way for an affordable housing project, new retail or nonprofit offices, city officials said.
The City Council’s finance committee on Tuesday advanced the purchase agreement with the property’s landlord, Valentia Building LLC.
“This has been long overdue and I’m just so excited about this,” said Councilman Chris Herndon, who represents the area, before the 4-0 vote. The matter now heads to the full council for approval next month.
The property — 8315 E. Colfax Ave., at the corner with Valentia Street — is one of two eyesores that the city’s real estate office and the Office of Economic Development have negotiated to purchase to help kickstart revitalization in the area. City officials also hope to capitalize on increasing interest in the area because of plans for a bus rapid transit line down Colfax.
In April, the city spent $650,000 to buy 7900 E. Colfax Ave. from Crosscheck LLC, according to property records. The site of a onetime lesbian dive bar now is a vacant parking lot, with the building torn down.
Julie Stern, the city’s housing development officer, told the council committee that a bid request for affordable housing development on that site could be issued this fall. The city also has initiated a rezoning process that would increase the maximum building height from three to five stories.
Affordable or mixed-income housing is one potential fate for the former PT’s II, too.
Stern says neighborhood leaders have suggested that any redevelopment include ground-floor retail or another community-serving function. The city would use Community Development Block Grant money for the purchase.
Herndon said he pushed city officials to buy up that site after recurring problems mobilized neighborhood leaders in recent years. A string of public safety issues included the murder of one patron by another in the parking lot in September 2015, culminating in its closure by court order.
Councilman Rafael Espinoza questioned what he considered the city’s “cherry-picking” of properties on East Colfax without an overall plan. He noted other neighborhoods with low equity measures, including most of West Colfax Avenue, had plenty of blighted properties, too.