Television and radio personality Tom "The Troubleshooter" Martino has asked the Denver City Council to rezone three acres of land near Welton Street and Park Avenue West. Martino is a managing member Welton Street Properties, which owns several large parcels at that intersection ("Hotel Martino," October 30, 2008). The rezoning application would reduce the amount of parking that any new development there would be required to provide, allow for residential and retail uses, and set a maximum height of 200 feet. Plans call for several high-density mixed-use buildings based around the adjacent light-rail lines.
Not part of the rezoning effort are several vacant residences owned by Welton Street Properties along Park Avenue West. These buildings earned the ire of nearby residents last fall because homeless people and drug users frequently used them. While Welton Street Properties promised the city that the most dilapidated of the structures would be demolished by February, all of them still stand. The city council will hold public hearings on the proposed rezonings in the coming weeks.
