Focus Property Group is striking out with some neighbors in the Ballpark neighborhood. The company wants to put a 7-Eleven at 2425 Broadway, between Silver State Lofts and the PBA Architectural firm, and across the street from the Granada Fish Company.
Tonight at 6 p.m., representatives of Focus, as well as the Ballpark Neighborhood Association and Steve Oliver, the 7-Eleven real estate manager for North America, will be meeting at the Premier Lofts, 2200 Market Street -- and protesters will be gathering out front. They haven't forgotten that Focus booted the Monkey Bean, and independent coffee house, and they don't think a 7-Eleven will improve the neighborhood.
There was a time when a 7-Eleven in this neighborhood would have seemed like manna from heaven; after all, just a few years ago the area just past LoDo was known as "NoDough." And an attempt to open a market in the 2000 block of Larimer a couple years back failed miserably; the economics of convenience stores can be tough without a company to back you up -- and buy in bulk.
Two decades ago, when neighbors protested a proposed 7-Eleven at Sixth Avenue, the company agreed that the outlet wouldn't sell liquor -- and such a fix might help in this case, too. But will it be enough for Focus to hit this one out of the ballpark? -- Patricia Calhoun
