In the weeks leading up to Casa Bonita’s much-vaunted reopening in June, Don Thwaites was told to pack up the kettle corn and Sno-Kones he sold out of a converted shipping container stationed in the parking lot of the iconic Mexican eatery and leave.

The sudden and unceremonious end to the carnival treat business he had operated for nearly two years in the shadow of the restaurant’s famous pink tower came as a shock to the 66-year-old Lakewood resident. Not even three months prior, the owner of the shopping center in which Casa Bonita is located had asked Thwaites if he wanted to extend his stay there.

“And then it just went downhill,” he said. “I lost my income, I lost my business.”

While he’s not sure why his relationship with shopping center owner Broad Street Realty soured so quickly, Thwaites has his suspicions: A Colorado dining destination that marks its 50th birthday next year was about to relaunch with much fanfare and adoring media coverage after having gone dark for three..

When Jonita Davis finally secured a rental apartment in mid-July, her two children asked to hold the keys. The kids, 7 and 10, twirled the keys around in their fingers — tactile evidence that their six-month stay crammed into a Centennial hotel room was coming to an end.

Everybody has their own room in the family’s new three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in south metro Denver. Davis’ son has a race car bed. Her daughter plays with toys on the balcony while Davis reads. Now that she and her children are somewhere safe, Davis is only beginning to process what it means to have escaped a toxic relationship.

The whole family is taking a collective, grounding breath, she said.

Even so, fear lingers.

“It’s a mix of relief and fear,” Davis said. “Is this real? Is this permanent? Is this going to be taken away? The kids saw me stressing every week about paying for the hotel room, and it took me a minute to get them to understand that we don’t have to do that here. We’ve had so many false ..

A new modular home factory being built in Boulder has stirred excitement as well as a healthy dose of controversy among members of the community.

The city announced Monday that construction on the factory is due to start this month. City officials who have championed the project say the factory — which is expected to eventually produce up to 50 permanently affordable homes every year — will be a game changer in terms of creating more affordable housing in Boulder. They also say it will provide an unparalleled hands-on learning experience for students in a local construction program.

However, numerous residents in nearby neighborhoods have vehemently opposed the project for a variety of reasons. Some are concerned about potential extra noise and traffic, while others worry about the environmental impact of the factory, which will sit adjacent to Sombrero Marsh, a protected wetland and habitat conservation area.

The factory site at 6500 Arapahoe Road is a large plot of land owned by t..

The mall owner would relocate a big box retail store to clear the way for 2 apartment towers with a lakefront view.