Stalled renovation on Denver landmark home leads to "poop protest"

CBS News

8 hours ago

A landmark home on Denver's historic 7th Avenue Parkway has sat vacant for the better part of six years, attracting weeds, rodents, the homeless and an unusual form of protest from neighbors frustrated by the eyesore.
"A poop protest, that's it," said Mimi Garrison, who has lived next door to the home at 2725 East Seventh Ave. for nearly 50 years. The 120-year-old home was sold in 2015, and the new owner rented it out at first, later beginning a renovation project which stalled out in 2019. It has sat vacant since then and fallen into disrepair, with windows boarded up, doors removed, weeds dotting the 9,000-square-foot parcel and a metal construction fencing erected around the property.
Garrison jokes that the home should be used as a Haunted House at Halloween.
It's been no laughing matter to other neighbors and the city. Denver's Community Planning and Development Agency said in 2024 the home landed on the city's "neglected and derelict" building list.
"It is disgraceful," said Garrison, who noted a Colorado Senator lives across the street and a former Governor once lived two doors away from the decaying property. She said people have broken into the vacant home, and some homeless individuals were living in the garage at one point.
Neighbors walking by began expressing their displeasure with the eyesore by tossing their dog's poop bags onto the front steps of the vacant home. Now, Garrison says, it happens with regularity, with dozens of brightly colored bags littering the front of the house.
"I think the neighbors are making a statement," said Garrison. The statement? "Clean it up. Clean up your mess," she said.
On a recent visit, there were dozens of bags on the front steps of the home.
"That's a lot of poop, and it smells," said the neighbor.
CBS News tracked down the owner of the home, Flavia Montecinos, who owns other Denver properties according to city records. She declined to be interviewed but sent a written statement indicating she got the message.
"Third parties have engaged in illegal dumping of dog feces, food waste and other garbage on the property," wrote Montecinos. "The property owner has discussed this matter with the City and County of Denver and continues to address this issue by regularly disposing of this waste," said Montecinos.
Alexandra Foster with Denver's Community Planning and Development agency said, "This is a landmark property that does have a history of complaints. The owner secured a permit for an addition in 2019 but abandoned the project halfway through during the pandemic". Foster said the agency had received five complaints in 2025 related to the "neglected conditions of the house," and about 40 complaints and citations associated with the house since 2019.
In May, one inspector noted on a report that a caller to the city stated, "The neighborhood is angry with this resident and a lot of them throw dog poop bags full of excrement over the fence into the yard."
Two months prior, a caller to the city complained that the home "is neglected and bringing the value of her house down." In February 2024, a city inspector wrote that the "abandoned job site" qualifies as a "nuisance" property. A city inspector checked out the property in July 2024 and wrote, "There are also dog poop bags being thrown over the fence on the south side/front of the house."
But even as the poop bags continue to pile up, there may be a glimmer of hope for exasperated neighbors. City records show a residential construction permit for the property is "in progress," allowing for the construction of a "small addition" and interior and exterior remodeling.
"To have it go on such a long time is what's the worst part," said Mimi Garrison. "A lot of the neighbors are affected by all this."