Thornton Shopping Center, 88th and Washington, is an economic blight and a safety concern. It is an EPA brown site - a former dry cleaner spilled solvents into the ground resulting in a large area of soil contamination and impacted groundwater.  This contamination has migrated into the surrounding neighborhood. 

The buildings, infrastructure, and parking lots are in total disrepair.  There has been no real upkeep or maintenance on the property since 2008.  The owner, Jay Brown, is an out-of-state slumlord that refuses to do anything to clean up the site. Earlier this year, he was cited for more than 111 code violations of the City’s Abatement of Dangerous Buildings Code and the URA Property Maintenance Code. Mr. Brown disputed this, lost his appeal, and now refuses to address these citations.  

This site is a health and safety concern for local residents and everyone who visits the post office, church, and the few remaining retail establishments. Residents have been lobbying Mayor Kulmann, city councilmembers, City Manager Kevin Woods, the Economic Development Office, and Code Enforcement for over a year to hold Jay Brown accountable for the clean up of this site. 

We are asking the city to hold Jay Brown responsible.  Clean up and revitalize this area.