Broncos push ahead with acquisitions near Burnham Yard for stadium

The Denver Broncos have quietly continued acquiring properties around Burnham Yard, a former Union Pacific railyard and the team’s preferred site for a new stadium, since announcing their plans in September.

Some business owners The Post talked to last week are excited about the prospect of the new stadium, while others are uncertain how the upheaval will impact their operations.

The team has purchased more than 15 parcels of land over the past few years, and the details of many of the transactions remain sparse.

However, BusinessDen recently reported entities that appear to be tied to the team closed on three properties, including 480 N. Osage St., which sold for $13 million to Dunhill Acquisition Co. LLC; 781–785 N. Vallejo St., which sold for $2.2 million to SNCC LLC; and 830 N. Wyandot St., which sold for $12.8 million to Ainsworth Real Estate LLC.

The Post confirmed the purchases and found that John W. O’Dorisio of Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio represented the buyers in the Vallejo Street and Wyandot Street transactions.

O’Dorisio also represented the team in its purchase of 1221 N. Pecos St., which lies within the area that has been announced as part of the future stadium’s development plan.

The Osage Street sale also shares several details with recent Broncos purchases, including an LLC formed in late 2023, and is connected to the Denver office of Spencer Fane.

A team spokesman declined to comment Friday regarding the sales.

Those purchases, along with others already reported on, create a scattershot footprint for the stadium that will require more acquisitions to fill in the gaps.

One of the parcels that fall in those gap areas includes SRM Concrete at 1145 Quivas St.

Smyrna, Tenn.-based SRM has 560 concrete plants across the country and owns six pieces of land in the middle of the Broncos’ development plan. Jeff Hollingshead, the CEO of SRM, said in an email that the company has had initial conversations with representatives associated with the Broncos regarding land in Burnham Yard.

“At this time, however, there is no transaction or agreement in place, and SRM has not sold the property at 1145 Quivas St.,” Hollingshead said. “That said, we have great respect for the Broncos organization and genuine appreciation for what this proposed project represents for the community. We are supportive of the stadium, and our intent is to be as helpful as possible.”

Denver property records put the total value of all the SRM parcels in Burnham Yard at $15.6 million.

The Post staff visited several businesses near the Burnham Yard area last week and encountered a range of reactions, with several people expressing uncertainty or a reluctance to sell.

Just to the north of SRM Concrete, at 1245 N. Quivas St., is where Erickson Monuments stood.

The business, which provides memorials and artistic stone work, has operated in Denver for 100 years and moved in May to 745 Vallejo St., in the southwest corner of the stadium planning area. The Quivas site was sold as part of the series of land acquisitions tied to the Denver Broncos.

The property was sold for nearly $4.7 million in October 2024, according to city property records.

Rebecca Stuart, who has owned Erickson Monuments for 15 years and was leasing the Quivas site, said she thought she would be safe signing a five-year lease for the Vallejo Street location. But after the gun store up the street sold, she’s worried she might have to move again.

“It’s very scary. To get moved twice would be horrifying. It’s not like anybody is giving me money to help me move,” Stuart said. “We need to move hundreds of thousands of pounds of granite, equipment, all the while trying to not have a break in service as families are expecting headstones in cemeteries.”

The Post wasn’t able to confirm if it was the Broncos that purchased High Country Armory, down the road at 785 N. Vallejo St., but it would be consistent with other recent purchases. A message was left with the company’s president.

The Broncos have filed an initial plan with the city for a stadium on the western portion of a now-defunct rail yard. The heavily industrial area is nestled east of Interstate 25 and north of Sixth Avenue, stretching to 13th Avenue.

The preliminary plan shows the Broncos’ new stadium directly east of a BNSF Railway freight line running through Burnham Yard, and directly south of an extended West 11th Avenue and the current Denver Water headquarters.

The timeline in the draft proposal suggests a goal of securing the building permits at the start of 2027.

At 715 Vallejo St., next door to Erickson Monuments, Brandon Berumen, CEO and owner of electrical contractor LEI Companies Inc., said they have not been approached by the Broncos about their property.

“We love the Broncos. I’m excited for that opportunity for them. We just kind of joked, either we’ll have a great tailgating spot or if somebody wants to come and buy it to build bars and restaurants, and the like. As long as the number makes sense to us, then, yeah, we’ll figure it out. Go Broncos.”

Berumen said they purchased their property in December 2021 and have since made substantial improvements to the building. However, he is not at all opposed to hearing out the Broncos.

Adding to the uncertainty of the Broncos’ plans, discussions have also emerged about a potential Xcel Energy substation being built near Zuni Street, likely intended to support future energy demands in the Lincoln/La Alma area linked to the new stadium.

Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo confirmed that the company has received interest from several parties about the Zuni Steam Power Plant, but the Broncos organization is not among them.

“We are working with the Broncos as we plan to serve the energy needs of the new stadium. This is consistent with our work with any new business in the communities we serve,” she said.

The plant, at 1349 Zuni St. and originally known as the LaCombe Power Plant, provided electricity and steam heat to the Denver area until it was retired in 2015.

Although Xcel received approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to demolish the structure in 2021, the company listed the plant for sale in 2024 and it has remained on the market, Aguayo said. Nonprofit Historic Denver is seeking to preserve the site.

John Deffenbaugh, president and CEO of Historic Denver, said that last year the organization and community partners submitted an application to designate the Zuni plant as a landmark, prompting a city-facilitated mediation process between Xcel, Historic Denver and community partners.

Designating the structure as a city landmark, which would have to be approved by the City Council, would effectively prevent demolition.

“We have been in mediation since that point, working positively together to facilitate what we hope could be an adaptive reuse of the steam plant,” Deffenbaugh told The Post on Thursday.

As preservation discussions continue around the Zuni plant and broader questions remain about the Broncos’ plans for the area, conversations are also underway in Denver’s La Alma Lincoln Park neighborhood as residents, neighbors and community leaders work to develop a community benefits agreement tied to the proposed stadium.

The agreement is a legally binding contract primarily negotiated and signed by a coalition of community organizations or representatives and the project developers. Official discussions began in October, and in December 2025, the Burnham Yard Community Fund was launched to support La Alma Lincoln Park neighbors as they seek to negotiate an agreement with stadium developers.