DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner is moving his Denver office out of a private building downtown after a series of protests raised issues about what was public and what was private space.
Ten disability advocates with ADAPT were arrested in late June after a three-day sit in at Gardner’s office after building management allegedly ordered the protesters to be removed—lest Gardner’s office be in violation of its lease.
The office had been housed in the Goldman Sachs-owned 1125 17th Street in downtown Denver, a building that was managed by Hines—a large corporate property management company in charge of several large commercial properties across the world.
Gardner’s office announced Friday that it would be temporarily moving to the U.S. Custom House on 19th Street—a federal building that is part of the federal court complex with tight security.
Gardner’s press office says the move to the federal building will be temporary and that they’ll announce the permanent location later on.
Gardner’s communications director, Alex Siciliano, said the move had been discussed “for a while” before it was announced and that the team “thought a government building would be best for our constituent services.”
“We were in a commercial building where we had private businesses as fellow tenants. When there were large groups of people in our office it created challenges for some of the private businesses,” Siciliano said. “We think this new location will be best for everyone as it is important we ensure continued constituent access to our office. All Coloradans are welcome in our new office space.”
The temporary office will open on Aug. 7. The office will be in Suite 150 of the building, which is located at 721 19th Street. The office number will stay the same (303-391-5777).
“The most important part of my job is to do everything I can to best serve my constituents, and the new space that we will be moving to will allow that to continue,” Gardner said in a statement.
All of the protesters arrested in June have pleaded not guilty to trespassing charges.
Meanwhile, Josh Winkler, a member of ADAPT, the group that protested Gardner, said the group is preparing for protests in the new location.
"ADAPT looks forward to seeing him in his new office soon," said Winkler.
However, since the building is considered a federal courthouse, the protestors will deal with additional security, including metal detectors and U.S. Marshals, who close the building at 6 p.m. If the protestors refuse Marshals' orders to leave, they could face federal charges, federal officials said.