Meth house fixer-upper in Northglenn just needs a little TLC -- and a wrecking crew

When methheads start cooking their own product, they're rarely as fastidious as Walt and Jesse in Breaking Bad. The cost of decontaminating a former lab can run into tens of thousands of dollars, as detailed in my feature "Toxic Shock." And sometimes the best option is to raze the place...

By Alan Prendergast

September 23, 2010

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When methheads start cooking their own product, they're rarely as fastidious as Walt and Jesse in Breaking Bad. The cost of decontaminating a former lab can run into tens of thousands of dollars, as detailed in my feature "Toxic Shock."

And sometimes the best option is to raze the place to the ground.

Such is the case with the modest Northglenn house seen here. Police raided the place two years ago and shut down a messy meth operation. The property stayed vacant and was eventually foreclosed on by Chase Bank.

Enter Colorado Brownfields Foundation, a nonprofit that works with local communities to redevelop forlorn and poisoned sites. Chase donated the property to CBF, which partnered this summer with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Gobbel Hays Partners and LVI Environmental Services to clean the place up. That involved removal of asbestos and meth-contaminated materials, then leveling the place to the foundation.

Over the next few weeks, a modern, energy-efficient home will emerge on the site, bringing the rogue property back into the neighborhood fold.

Here are some photos of the process:

For more pictures of the transformation and updates, go here.

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Alan Prendergast is a former staff writer at Westword and is now a senior contributor. He writes about various topics but primarily focuses on news. He’s contributed to Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Outside, USA Today, Men's Journal and other publications and is the author of two nonfiction books, Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime and The Poison Tree: A True Story of Family Violence and Revenge. He’s earned numerous accolades for his work including the Eugene Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award and two national feature writing awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Contact: Alan Prendergast

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