The Denver Post has not paid more than $2 million in rent to the city as the newspaper attempts to buy out its long-term lease of the 11-story building it once called home.<\/p>\n
That figure includes three $650,000-a-month rent payments that have not been paid since August, plus tens of thousands of dollars in late fees, according to city documents.<\/p>\n
While the mostly vacant building still bears The Post\u2019s name, the newspaper hasn\u2019t operated out of the space at 101 W. Colfax Ave. in seven years. The last of parent company MediaNews Group\u2019s employees moved to offices at the paper\u2019s Adams County printing facility in 2020.<\/p>\n
The city of Denver bought the building in 2024 and assumed The Post\u2019s lease.<\/p>\n
DP Media Network LLC, the newspaper\u2019s legal name, has offered to buy out its lease with the city and hopes to reach a mutually beneficial arrangement, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stopped occupying this space while the building was under private ownership long before the city purchased it, so there was never any impression we would be using the space when the city made the decision to purchase the building,\u201d said Marshall Anstandig, general counsel for The Post\u2019s parent company, MediaNews Group.<\/p>\n
The lapse in rent payments, first reported by CBS Colorado<\/a>, comes as Denver battles a budget crisis<\/a> that has led to layoffs, a hiring freeze and service cuts<\/a>. The crisis is due to an estimated revenue shortfall of $200 million<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n In an emailed statement, a spokesman for Mayor Mike Johnston said the city is working with The Post to resolve the issue, and added that officials \u201cintend to recover every penny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDenver pays its debts on time and DP Media Network should do the same,\u201d spokesman Jon Ewing said.<\/p>\n Laura Swartz, a spokeswoman for Denver\u2019s finance department, said the city pursued the property specifically because of the lease lasting through 2029, which made the deal financially feasible. A majority of the City Council approved the deal with that understanding as well.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez was one of four members to vote against the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t vote for this purchase because I knew Denver couldn\u2019t afford it without guaranteed income,\u201d she said. \u201cNow that DP Media has stopped paying rent, our residents are left carrying the burden.\u201d<\/p>\n The roughly 306,000-square-foot building opened in 2006 as the base of operations for both The Post and the Rocky Mountain News, which closed in 2009 \u2014 though neither newspaper ever owned it.<\/p>\n