After only a year and a half on the job, William A. “Andy” Barnes has announced his resignation as president and chief executive officer of the Stapleton Development Corp.
Barnes said he’ll leave the nonprofit SDC at the end of the year to return to private-sector work.
When he was hired early last year, Barnes was hailed as a visionary developer who would spearhead creation of a dazzling new community at the former Stapleton airport–a $2.5 billion showcase of research and development parks, environmental technology centers, shops, residential neighborhoods, parks and miles of nature trails.
But by many accounts, including his own, Barnes has been frustrated by roadblocks that have stymied rebuilding of the 4,700-acre former airport, one of the nation’s largest urban redevelopment projects.
Frustration also is the lament of some city officials. They have said privately that the high-salaried SDC staff has produced few results and shows little likelihood of starting large-scale development in the near future.
The SDC and Barnes, who collects a base salary of $179,000 a year, have failed to reach agreement with the city of Denver over control of Stapleton.
Since before Barnes was hired, the development corporation and the city have been unable to negotiate a legal transfer of Stapleton property from the city’s aviation department to the SDC. And they have yet to find a way to finance development and environmental cleanup.
Mayor Wellington Webb’s recent willingness to consider a bulk sale of Stapleton to a private developer was viewed by some involved in the process as an indication that Webb sees, at most, a diminished future role for the SDC.
A bulk sale would sidetrack SDC’s original mission: to direct high-quality planning and development of Stapleton by an autonomous board under no pressure to turn quick profits.
Barnes said the possibility of a bulk sale played no role in his decision to resign.
He said he wanted to spend more time with his wife, who remained in San Francisco when Barnes took the SDC job, and was attracted to the prospect of private-sector development and consulting work.
“I’m looking forward to not spending so many 12- and 14-hour days at work,” Barnes said.
Despite the hours Barnes says he put in, and despite the high hopes when he came to Denver, the old airport property remains little changed.
A handful of tenants hold interim leases to operate businesses in Stapleton’s vacant buildings and hangars. Plans for a $125 million business park near Interstate Highway 70 and Havana Street–a proposal made before Barnes’ arrival–are in place, but construction has not started.
Harry Lewis, chairman of the SDC, acknowledged that progress has been slow. But not for lack of effort by Barnes or his staff, Lewis said.
“Andy was never able to perform what he was hired to do, and that’s to develop,” he said. “I think we’d all agree that it has taken far too long to settle the issue of disposition of the property.”
Lewis said the SDC is talking with developers about several projects, including a shopping center, anchored by a grocery store, for Stapleton’s southwest quadrant, and two other retail proposals that would include movie theaters and restaurants.
In addition, he said homebuilders are “very interested” in starting residential development.
Lewis said he sees a continued role for the SDC because he sees little likelihood that a private entity could obtain enough financing to buy all of Stapleton and launch its redevelopment.
A group led by Denver attorney and developer Harvey Deutsch in September offered the city $30 million for Stapleton. City officials said they’re reviewing the offer.
