Posts from — November 2007

Just because I think they are cool!

Another ship mate had a much better camera (sorry iphone, but a super camera you are not) and took these great shots. Just wanted to share.

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I just wanted to share a fun little photo. I was recently in California and got a chance to take in a dolphin tour boating trip.

No dolphins were spotted but we got an extra special treat. We saw a blue whale. This photo shows the big guy (or girl) waving a tail goodbye as he/she began another dive. It was truly spectacular to see and we were extremely close to see how huge these beautiful creatures are.

We were told there may be as few as 4500 blue whales left in the world. Blue whales are believed to be the largest animals ever to have lived, and unfortunately they are now on the endangered species list.

But there are efforts being made to protect these beauties. Check it out and learn.

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I was recently walking into lodo for a little dinner when I passed by the above pictured memorial on Market street. The memorial was for the man killed and possibly the 7 wounded from the shooting at 2 am on the morning of Sunday November 4th.

It was emotional to see the memorial, perhaps it made it more real in comparison to reading it in the newspaper or watching TV.

It is just so senseless, so sad, and a rare and tragic event for Denver. What are our solutions to fighting crime and violence in this wonderful city? In my opinion the growth in the number of urban dwellers downtown will certainly help contribute to this. More eyes on the street is one helpful item, but more than that the increased density of folks living downtown will promote the number of people working to protect the peace whether by ideas or tax dollars for our police force. I’m no criminologist and this isn’t my forte so I hope others out there have some good ideas. The key is to make sure discussions are happening to get those ideas presented and find solutions.

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I recently had the opportunity to attend the Urban Land Institute’s Fall Session in Las Vegas. Forgetting that Vegas is an adult Disneyland with more than enough fun to kill someone the event had some really cool sessions to learn from.

One of the sessions that drew my eye talked about getting families downtown. As one might expect, many cities wrestle with the loss of families in their downtowns. Denver seems to be no different, as friends I know continue to abandon their urban desires and pack their yoga bags for the burbs. Of course, they often speak later with regret about how bored they are but martyr themselves for the sacrifice they made for their children.

That sucks.

There is no reason that urban living and family life have to be mutually exclusive. The discussion I attended took on these issues head on and discussed some specific projects in Portland that were trying to do a perception change with it’s residents. The first question is what needs to be added to keep families in their urban lives. [Read more →]

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What is more important, land rights and an individuals right to maximize their property value or the preservation of our city landmarks? Then again, who has a right to decide what constitutes a city landmark?

This topic might get more comments than any others so in advance I’ve set up a forum discussion. The trick in the mix is that the owners have also pointed out that if the Rockies and the city advocate groups feel that strongly about preserving the views they can always buy the land away from them. That’s not such a crazy argument and I would think that if the city OR the rockies started to approach local developers they just might find some interested parties who would love the idea of developing the Coors Field lofts.

It has branding, it has some panache, it has some great possibilities (anyone out there who decides to do it give me a call :) ).

Really, just think about it. There is no need to step on property rights or to ruin the views for the stadium folks. Every challenge is an opportunity. First of all, just build the building to the maximum height that still keeps the Rockies owners and the advocate groups happy. That is still a fairly high range and I expect that several floors of condos could go in there.

Secondly, if the Rockies and their advocates are a partner in this to preserve their asset (The stadium views) they could also come up with some killer marketing idea that makes the units unique and increases the price per square foot they obtain and work to make it not just a winning move for the stadium, but also a profitable one for the group involved. What would that perk be…. who knows. What about those units carrying a 10 year season ticket package and rights to renew beyond that for each unit. What about a Rockies affiliated restaurant in the base. What about a rooftop Rockies sports lounge. Heck, you can even throw in autographed Rockie jerseys and baseballs for each owner as a welcome gift at almost no cost but a huge value.

Forget fighting about it. Someone take this bull by the horns and make it the opportunity it should be. My guess is a lower building with a Rockies tie in would sell better ane more profitably than a generic taller building that is in contention with the city. PR matters. Branding matters, and this just begs for a flip from bad to good. Let’s also get the city to do their part with a pedestrian bridge over to the stadium across the tracks from that building. There are always options to make it a home run (had to have at least one pun).

So lets do a little marketing and development feedback here on my crazy little idea. The land looks to be for sale from this info I found when I googled 2010 Delgany so this fiction can become reality. Any buyers out there?

Link to PDF of proposed change

Rocky Mountain News Article

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Just putting an old question out there to see if opinions have changed.

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