At the heart of Lakewood, adjacent to city hall, sits Belmar Park. A gem composed of natural habitat, playgrounds, paved and unpaved trails, an amphitheater and the Lakewood Heritage center, it has spent the past year as the focal point for a confrontation faced by multiple metro municipalities: whether to prioritize housing development or park preservation.
The controversy in Lakewood arises from the fate of a dilapidated building sitting along the lake waterfront at the eastern edge.
Before writing this column, I decided to take a closer look at the site. I live nearby and frequent the park several times a week. But I had not given the building much scrutiny; the views over Kountze Lake and to the Front Range mountains are in the opposite direction and are among the best in the metro area. An abandoned structure certainly cannot compete.
The building itself is one of a complex of four built in the 1960s. I’ve been inside the other buildings and they look their age: low ceilings, old carpet, thin walls and windows. But Building 4 — the one closest to the park and included in a separate parcel of land — is an eyesore.
Windows are shattered or boarded. Graffiti covers signs outside. A lonely office chair sits under an overhang. A temporary-turned-permanent chain link fence wraps around it, though some sections have been separated to allow access. I did not slip through for a closer look as a police cruiser stood guard at the entrance, presumably to combat trespass by squatters, unhoused individuals seeking shelter and thrill-seeking high schoolers.
The only redeeming feature is the parking lot on the west side, situated between the building and lake edge, which has been commandeered by park visitors for quick access.
As it stands the status quo cannot continue. The building is a danger and disgrace.
Enter Kairoi Properties. The Texas-based company purchased the building and land, through a shell-organization, for $6 million in June 2021. They have proposed a five-story, 412-unit residential building on the site. Given the unobstructed views and proximity to Belmar shops just across Wadsworth, those units would be in high demand. That is likely why the Texas-based Kairoi made the investment in the first place.
As their plans began to circulate through the Lakewood community, opposition quickly materialized. The park provides a natural respite for residents even as the area around it has changed and grown over the decades. From dog walkers to birdwatchers, it is a destination for people seeking escape from urban sprawl.
That opposition coalesced around the citizen-created group Save Belmar Park. The group is both active and energized. It has been very successful pushing its message and recruiting neighborhood support. It does not take long to spot their yard signs while strolling along adjacent streets.
Most recently, Save Belmar Park forced the City of Lakewood’s hand via a ballot petition that barred developers from paying a fee in lieu of donating parkland. Faced with either scheduling an expensive special election or adopting the ordinance and facing litigation, the city council chose the latter.
The lawsuit did not take long. Kairoi sued the city earlier in January. They brought in powerhouse law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck led by former U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. They are very serious about protecting their investment.
On the city’s side, there is still a question about how rigorously they will defend the ordinance. Passed after the state had already put a countervailing law into reference, defense will be an uphill battle. Multiple city council members and the mayor have made it clear they do not believe the ordinance will withstand judicial scrutiny. The best chance may be for Save Belmar Park and residents to attempt to intervene in the lawsuit, though it would be a costly endeavor.
These things have a tendency to drag out and inflict pain on all sides. Look no further than the years-long conflict over the Park Hill Golf Course. Bitter division led to entrenched differences and wound from courts to political campaigns. Ironically, just as the Belmar debate heated up the Park Hill controversy came to a conclusion; Denver will swap land elsewhere and turn the golf course into a large community park.
The parties in Lakewood will also likely have to think outside the box to avoid the same prolonged battle.
For example, Kairoi may offer to alter its plans. Including an expanded buffer zone so that the building is not encroaching on the waterfront and trails may be an option. Depending on the economics — and Kairoi seems to have gotten the land for a song given that the last purchase 20 years ago was for only $500,000 less even amid dramatic land price increases — they may even be willing to reduce the total unit and floor count. Even four floors would make it the highest building in the surrounding area, including the Belmar mixed-use neighborhood.
As an alternative, the parties could engage the owner of the other three buildings, who sold Kairoi the land in the first place, to see if purchase and development of that land would be a possibility. The buildings on that plot are already beyond their useful life. And while the parcel is a bit smaller, direct access to Wadsworth could mitigate some of the traffic problems associated with the current plan while also providing a significant buffer from the park itself.
Hopefully each party will be willing to make concessions and contribute creative proposals toward a solution. Otherwise everyone involved will need to prepare for a long, cold war without any real winners.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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