Since 2001, Cherie DuFour has co-owned Herb’s, a nightclub two blocks from Coors Field in Denver that dates to the 1930s.

For decades, the establishment shared the corner with El Charrito, a dive bar and restaurant. But El Charrito closed in 2018 and, the following year, the building sold to a pair of local development firms.

They planned to renovate and add on to the 2100 Larimer St. building. But five years later, DuFour said, the building is still empty. And it looks worse than ever.

“It makes the neighborhood look trashy,” DuFour said. “We had our hopes up. It was supposed to turn into a piano bar. It’s been sitting like this for years. It’s not just the pandemic. It was like this before and it’s been like this since. It’s an eyesore, it’s a major eyesore.”

The city of Denver agrees, at least in a general sense. Last week, the city placed the property on its “neglected and derelict building list,” which is reserved for structures that city inspectors identify as “unsafe, nuisance, habitually in violation of city codes” or behind on property taxes.

Kenneth Monfort, however, disagrees with the designation.

“We firmly believe these matters can be effectively addressed outside of a statutory process, making local government intervention entirely unnecessary,” he wrote in a Friday email to city officials and neighbors, which was obtained by BusinessDen. “I also think the city and our Councilman have more pressing issues to be concerned with.”

Monfort’s father and uncle own the Colorado Rockies. And his firm, Monfort Cos., owns 2100 Larimer St. in partnership with Denver-based Magnetic Capital, led by Dan Huml and Chris Carroll. The firms paid $2.9 million in 2019 for the two-story, 11,600-square-foot building.

At the time, Monfort and Huml said they were looking to add third and fourth stories. Upper floors would hold offices, while the ground floor would remain as retail space.

“Our goal with this is to really preserve the historic nature of the property, and do something thoughtful,” Huml told Businessden in 2019.

In 2022, the piano bar Howl at the Moon said it had signed a 10-year lease for the building’s ground floor and basement. But the bar never moved in, and no work has been done to the building.

Monfort and Huml didn’t respond to a list of questions emailed by BusinessDen, including why renovations haven’t commenced.

Monfort is doing plenty of work just two blocks away. He’s completed two redevelopments in the 1900 block of Market Street since 2021, bringing in Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row and Riot House. A third project, which will incorporate the El Chapultepec property and the neighboring Giggling Grizzly building, is in the works.

But nothing has happened at 2100 Larimer St. After the pandemic set in, Ballpark became a hotspot for illegal homeless encampments. Last year, a Monfort executive was attacked by a dog outside the building. In February, a portion of the building’s roof caved in on the street. No one was injured.

Nearby business owners there say there’s often been homeless activity both around and inside the building. It often smells of human waste, they said, and the sidewalk outside it is often littered with trash.

In his Friday email, Monfort told neighbors that he didn’t know there was a problem.

“The sudden designation of our property is the first instance where Dan and I were made aware of these concerns,” he wrote.

Monfort and Huml didn’t return calls from BusinessDen. But in a statement sent by a spokeswoman, they said they support the creation of a neighborhood “General Improvement District,” which they believe would alleviate some of the struggles with their property.

“As is the case for many vacant buildings, when we paint over graffiti, it shows up the next day and when we power wash the sidewalk, it’s dirty almost immediately after,” the pair said in the statement. “While we always aim to address issues as promptly as possible – just as we display the same pride of ownership at our other projects in the neighborhood – this is largely a case of missing foundational neighborhood services.”

The 2100 Larimer building was added to the city’s neglected buildings list following complaints from neighbors, according to Alexandra Foster, a spokeswoman for Denver’s Community Planning and Development department.

“Once on the list, our inspections team will work with the property owner to secure the site in the short term and develop a plan for addressing code and safety issues in the longer term,” Foster said in an email.

Neighbors are hoping that the undesirable designation will be the change needed to breathe life back into the building.

“He does not respond to our concerns until I get the city involved,” Lisa Franz said. “My hopes are that he engages in conversation with us and improvements are swift.”

Franz is the owner of Frank’s Gentlemen’s Salon at 2111 Larimer St., across the street from the building. She said she met with Monfort and other business owners about the property last summer, and shared emails she exchanged with Fritz Jünker, the executive who landed in the hospital after a dog attack. He no longer works for Monfort.

In the emails, Franz and Jünker discussed firms that would power wash, paint, clean and secure the building.

“I … would also advocate for a mural of some sort on either broad side. Plain gray walls are going to invite tagging and a constant need for cover ups. I appreciate y’all taking responsibility for the building as it has been quite the eye sore and nuisance for years,” she wrote to Jünker in July 2023.

“The mural is a heavier lift for the majority partner,” Jünker wrote back. “But I’m trying.”

The owners of Herb’s, DuFour and Laura Newman, also said they’ve tried to contact Monfort about the building, calling him and his company. Only Jünker returned their messages, they said.

“I have to assume that Kenny (Monfort) is aware of it … that’s a lot to turn a blind eye to,” Newman said.

Johnna Roybal, who owns five businesses — four of them bars — on Blake and Larimer in Ballpark, said some of her employees park in the lot next door to 2100 Larimer. The building’s condition means it’s often unsafe at night, she said, and her employees walk in pairs to their cars after closing.

“If it’s painted and it starts looking like something is going in, it will be a deterrent,” Roybal said.

She called the building “a huge safety issue for everyday patrons trying to be down here.” Denver police didn’t respond by press time to a records request regarding how often officers have responded to the property.

Stevenson Farnsworth, a Ballpark resident and real estate broker, said he showed the property to a prospective tenant last fall and was “told not to go 15 feet from the door for fears of the floor collapsing.”

He said there were visible large holes in the floor, and what seemed to be human activity in the basement.

“It wasn’t rats,” Farnsworth said.

Neighbors also voiced disappointment at how long it took the city to act on the building’s condition. Roybal said she’s been fined for having a board out on the sidewalk advertising her business as open. She’s also been dinged for a messy dumpster, likely caused by homeless activity, she added.

“I couldn’t treat my property that way without incurring boatloads of fines. Somehow that one gets to sit there,” said Newman, co-owner of Herb’s.

Monfort and Huml, meanwhile, said they’re planning to take steps soon to improve the property’s condition. The collapse of part of the building’s roof and cornice, they said in their statement, was due to an “unforeseen, uncontrollable and very costly act of nature.” It had rained and snowed several inches in the hours leading up to the incident. The pair said they’re working to resolve an insurance claim and hope to use money from that to repair the roof and the building’s exterior.

In another email exchange between Monfort, city officials and local businesses, he said was exploring options for the property.

“I am open to discussing potential solutions for repositioning this asset, including leasing, build-to-suit options, a sale, or an assemblage,” Monfort wrote last week. “We have had preliminary discussions with our three neighboring properties about an assemblage to support multifamily development. However, this concept is barely financially feasible due to high construction costs and interest rates. Additionally, the high land values of nearby parking lots present a significant hurdle.”

He wrote that those parking lots were hotbeds for illicit activities, “unlike our building.”

“Please let us know what this group (of nearby businesses) is expecting from us in the meantime,” Monfort concluded.

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Originally Published: July 30, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.