November 29, 2012
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 123, Issue 45
75 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourlittletonnews.com
Homicides ‘isolated, ’ police say Five slayings reported in Littleton this year By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com There officially have been five homicides in Littleton so far in 2012. That’s two more than in 2002, previously the most in recent history. Those three a decade ago all happened
on one terrible night in a bowling alley. That crime remains unsolved. In contrast, this year’s have been separate and distinct. “Each of the incidents was isolated, and the victims were known by the offenders,” reads a statement released by the city in response to a series of questions from the Littleton Independent. Most recently, an Oct. 19 gun battle left Options High School student De Von Flores, 18, dead and a 17-year-old boy in the hospital. Littleton police arrested Dion Rankin, 20, on Oct. 24. He’s being held without bond at the Arapahoe County Jail, facing a first-degree
Puente
Rankin
Ninneman
murder charge. The judge ordered the case file sealed, and police haven’t released further information.Flores died in Littleton’s troubled northeast neighborhood. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 of 2011, po-
lice responded to three crime-related and four non-criminal calls in the block where he fell. In the same time frame this year, that number jumped to eight each. The other slayings: • The city’s first homicide occurred in March. Dylan Jones thought his uncle, John Jones, was an intruder and accidentally stabbed him to death. The district attorney declined to press charges. • Darin Ninneman is accused of killing his mother in May and is in jail without bond pending his trial. A preliminary hearing suggests the drugfueled relationship between the mother Crime continues on Page 8
Apartments may be on rise
HE’S BACK
Hundreds of units could be constructed By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com
took over. He had no interest in keeping the property and, in 2009, sold it at auction “in 5 minutes for $1,430,000,” according to Rocky Mountain Estate Brokers Realty’s website. The minimum bid was $860,000. “I lost the battle,” said Wolf. She and her husband, both prominent real-estate agents locally, had envisioned retiring there, and the main house was perfect for big, blended family holidays. Wolf attended a Nov. 13 public meeting at the Town of Columbine Valley to plead for the rescue of at least the main house. It’s more than just sentimental, she said, it’s a matter of historic preservation. Wolf and other members of Historic Littleton Inc. worked to get the property listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Places in 1993. Then Colorado Preservation Inc. put it on its list of most endangered places in 2010, right alongside the state Capitol dome. “Willowcroft is surrounded on two sides by a neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes, which results in significant development pressure,” reads the CPI website. “While still livable, the main house is suffering from deferred maintenance, as are the barns and other outbuildings. Colorado
More than 700 dwellings will be added to Littleton if two projects currently in the works come to fruition. This seems to bear out City Manager Michael Penny’s declaration in June that “the phone is ringing,” signaling increased interest from developers since city council undertook an ongoing discussion of economic affairs earlier this year. In the meantime, there’s been a flurry of proposed zoning changes, including one to remove the “protectionist” transit-impact zones around the light-rail stations. “As (we) met with landowners and developers, it was clear that people want to do something and were waiting for an environment when it might be possible to develop/redevelop property in Littleton,” said Penny. “We’ve made some internal process improvements. We’ve taken code amendments to council to streamline review processes. We’re still updating code sections — subdivisions, Penny etc. — to make development have a more predictable process, yet allow for public input and review. I think it’s these types of actions which bring interest in development to a community — a community which says, ‘Yes, we’re interested in seeing what you have which will add to our community.’” The proposed Broadstone at Littleton Station is in what was the TIZ. It would see a five-story apartment building replacing what’s commonly known as the “old sheriff’s building” at 2100 W. Littleton Blvd. It would contain 325 units and a parking garage on 4.5 acres, including the house behind the existing building at 5759 S. Bemis St. A similar project proposed for that site in 2007 was ultimately scrapped after contentious meetings raised concerns about traffic and heights. City council voted unanimously to eliminate the TIZ in July. At the time, Councilor Bruce Stahlman asked what a worst-case scenario might look like without it. Councilor Phil Cernanec answered that the old sheriff’s building and the Sternberg building, both just east of the Littleton Courthouse on Littleton Boulevard, could be redeveloped into 40-story buildings. To the south, the Flying B Ranch property on the south side of County Line Road east of Santa Fe Drive could be home to
Willowcroft continues on Page 8
Projects continues on Page 8
Guest of honor Santa Claus waves to the huge crowd as he arrives Nov. 23 for Littleton’s Candlelight Walk. Mild weather drew a large number of people to the annual event. Photo by Tom Munds
Historic Bowles manor eyed for development Columbine Valley mulls changes for 10-acre site By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@ourcoloradonews.com A site described as one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places for 2010 is even more endangered now. Willowcroft Manor & Farm, 3600 W. Bowles Ave. in Columbine Valley, was originally the home of Joseph Bowles, one of Littleton’s most prominent settlers. The main house was built in 1884 and designed by Robert Roeschlaub, also known for the Cen-
tral City Opera House. The grandiose mansion still stands on the property, along with two barns, a bunkhouse and a smokehouse. But perhaps not for long. The owner, Willowcroft Partners LLC, is negotiating with a developer who wants to build 31 single-family homes on the nearly 10-acre property. Mary Wolf, for one, is not pleased. She visited the property every day for nearly 35 years with her late husband, Bruce. He grew up there after it was purchased in 1945 by his mother, Cynthia, who lived there until shortly before her death in 2005. Bruce Wolf was the executor of his mother’s estate until his death in 2008, at which time his half-brother, David Owen,
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