More than 130 years ago, a volunteer fire station was hastily built at 600 South Broadway by the Vaughn Hose Company, according to the Denver firefighter historians at 5280Fire.com. After a demolition in the 1890s (Denverites were complaining about eyesores in their neighborhoods back then, too), the brick building that stands at the address today was erected. The City of Denver annexed the building a few years later and dubbed it Denver Firehouse #13.
The fire station operated in that location until the mid-1970s, when it moved to a new home on South Yosemite Street. The 600 South Broadway building has since housed a variety of businesses, most recently a marketing firm, but soon the former fire station will once again be dealing in smoke.
The Center ownership paid $3 million in June for the property at South Broadway and West Center Avenue, according to the dispensary group's real estate representative, with management hoping to be open and operating by mid-September. There's a lot of excitement around the move, says director of operations Cory Lewis, but some sadness, too.
"Our old customers are really important to us," he says. "Our new building is beautiful and it's in a good location, but it's sort of terrifying, too. Any time you have to rebuild or move your clientele base, especially with the industry in the state it's in, you don't know what you're going to get."
The Center will move from 6853 Leetsdale Drive to 600 South Broadway, which is now considered a historic building in Denver.
Thomas Mitchell
"Our own products from our grow are good, but we haven't had the money to invest into infrastructure yet. We're transitioning our approach and mentality as a dispensary by relying less on our own product and more on relationships with brands that carry a high-quality reputation across the state," Lewis explains. "We've always wanted to expand. When we were doing well, it was hard because the the entire industry was doing well, so it was hard to find a new location in Denver. Well, actually, it's still very hard to find a location in Denver."
New dispensary licenses in Denver are reserved for applicants who qualify under a social equity designation intended to prioritize business owners from communities that were impacted by the drug war. However, dispensaries that are already in operation can still apply for a license transfer to a new location. The Center's transfer request was approved by the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses earlier this summer, but there is still interior work to finish and a few city inspections to pass, Lewis says.
Expansion was always in the Center's business plans, but a recent downturn in dispensary sales across the state turned expansion into moving — not that moving is any easier, he contends.
"It's a dope building," he says. "There was a desire to attract new clientele, but it's going to be tough to leave. To survive, we need people who are willing to spend more, and disposable income is tight where we're at. When food, gas, rent and everything else goes up, weed goes by the wayside. We hope we can retain as many customers as possible, but the move will be tough."
In addition to serving recreational customers, Lewis notes, the Center's new dispensary will retain its medical license, and hopes to retain former patient shoppers.
