Denver El Chapultepec's structural problems got worse after recent snowstorm, owners say

Monfort Companies development partner Matt Runyon pointed to a patch of exposed brick on the wall of Denver’s renowned, and long-closed, jazz club El Chapultepec to highlight one of the building’s core problems.

He barely touched it and a cloud of dust poofed out as fragments of the old brick fell onto the checkered floor.

Upstairs of El Chapultepec — also known as The Pec — the floor is sloping where one end is more than six inches higher than the other.

And now, there’s a new problem.

Wooden ceiling beams have started to crack after a major winter storm two weeks prior when Denver recorded nearly a foot of snow.

“Not one surface in this place is really anywhere near standard,” Runyon said. “And it's degrading by the day, adding to the complexity of what it would take to preserve the building.”

The owners of the building, local developing firm Monfort Companies, gave the Denver Gazette a tour on Tuesday to highlight the structural issues inside The Pec to show what convinced them the building needs to be torn down. Their decision sparked backlash earlier this month from local historic preservationists who want to save the building of the former jazz club with landmark status.

Monfort Companies — run by Kenneth Monfort, the son and nephew of Colorado Rockies owners — plans to tear down the building and erect an outdoor patio in its place with the building’s "Cantina café" neon sign still attached, project renderings show.

Dick and Charlie Monfort are not affiliated with the developing firm's project on The Pec.

Kenneth Monfort said the outdoor patio is a way to activate the block near Coors Field still reeling from downtown's pandemic office decline as he aims to transform it into an entertainment district.

It got the support of Downtown Denver Partnership who said the redevelopment would help bring vibrancy to that part of downtown.

The Pec opened in 1933 right after Prohibition and became an internationally-renowned jazz club meant to be affordable and accessible for anyone who wanted to listen to great music. It attracted famous artists including The Police, Mick Jagger, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ed Sheeran and even former President Bill Clinton who played his saxophone in the early 1990s.

It closed in 2020 during the pandemic and never reopened due to the rapidly-changing neighborhood since Coors Field was built and growing maintenance costs. The family who ran it started a new music venue at the Dazzle nightclub where The Pec's spirit can be kept alive.

Monfort Companies bought the 1880s-era building in 2022, along with the Giggling Grizzly and committed to restoring it — at first.

But several renovations done without a permit by a previous tenant after The Pec family left severely hurt the building, Runyon said.

The crumbling bricks making up the building’s walls were low-grade for its time, Runyon said, and not even close to today’s standards making it hard to drill into it.

Most modern bricks have the strength of 1,500 pounds per square inch, HCDA Engineering structural engineer Steve Horner said, and the ones at The Pec have 50 PSI strength.

An engineering report from November by HCDA found "significant portions" of the exterior brick would have to be completely reconstructed, as well as the entire roof framing, most of the second-floor framing and the whole floor on the main level.

Yet, Historic Denver sees it as still worth saving.

The organization applied with the city to make the building a historic landmark after hearing the owners weren’t going to save the building.

Monfort also gave a tour of the building to the historic preservationist organization last week, who brought their own structural engineer to assess the site. They are set to publicly release their findings later this week.

Historic Denver CEO John Deffenbaugh said the building has areas in need of repairs and replacements, but added it’s “not out of the ordinary” for a structure of its age.

The group is not advocating for complete preservation, he said, but adaptive reuse.

“Buildings tell stories and in order for that story to continue to be told, the building needs to stay in place,” Deffenbaugh said.

One recent example of adaptive reuse is Denver’s 97-year-old Esquire Theater, where the owners plan to redevelop the building, keeping the exterior mostly the same while converting it into a mixed-use office and retail location on South Broadway.

Both parties said they hope to work out the issue before it reaches Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission meeting on May 7.

After the site showing and continuing discussions, Monfort said they hope compromise is possible with Historic Denver and the conversation shifts from talking about the "impossibility" of keeping the walls toward preserving The Pec's legacy through keeping its neon signs.

Meanwhile, Deffenbaugh said he would compromise by any means as long as it includes the exterior of the building.

“The sign is certainly a key part of that corner, but it's mounted on an existing building. And together that composition works to tell the story of the wonderful musicians who performed there, of shenanigans that occurred in that space,” Deffenbaugh said.