Democratic National Convention Could Halt Denver Construction

September 27, 2007 • A recent article in the Rocky Mountain News reported that construction and business leaders are concerned after an email from a Denver city engineer warned that there could be a moratorium on construction in downtown Denver a month before the Democratic National Convention next year.

The email, sent by city engineer Joe Saejiw, warned that tower cranes may have to be disassembled, a move that could cost millions of dollars, the article reported.

The scenarios outlined in the email could wreak havoc on the $160 million economic windfall that officials predict the 35,000-person convention will bring to the city next August. The article reported that Saejiw has said he just wanted to lay out the worst-case scenario for contractors, to give contractors an idea of what they might expect until the city has instructions from the Secret Service, which has the final say on security measures.

Phil Tallman of Morrow Equipment, which rents many of the giant cranes downtown, said it typically takes three to five days to dismantle a crane, and easily can cost $500,000, according to the article. "A tower crane is at the heart of every construction site," he said. "Shutting them down would be astronomically expensive. Contractors have schedules to meet, and this would mean they are 30 days behind schedule."

Mayor John Hickenlooper disagreed with the measures proposed and vowed the convention will be safe but also will have as little disruption to business as possible.

The Secret Service has indicated it might not want cranes operating during specific hours, but has not raised the issue of dismantling them, according to Bill Vidal, Denver Public Works manager. But Hickenlooper said cranes are so crucial to big projects he doesn't want to see them unmanned for even four or five hours during a work day. The mayor would prefer increased jobsite security over stopping construction. Haselden said he thinks the city can provide security at the convention without shutting down construction for a month.

For now, construction contractors will have to wait and see. Everyone from the Secret Service to Mike Dino, who heads fundraising for the Democratic National Convention, emphasized there is no security plan in place.

"At this point, there has not been enough planning put in place to determine how construction will be impacted, one way or another," Dino said.