Demolition begins on old Thriftway building in Westwood in Denver

Folks gathered Wednesday, Sept. 3 at the OK Thriftway builiding in the Westwood neighborhood in Denver. (Joe Vaccarelli, Your Hub)

Demolition of the OK Thriftway, an old blighted building in Denver's Westwood neighborhood, began Wednesday in the presence of city representatives, Denver police and a few members of the neighborhood.

Folks cheered as several officials ceremoniously pulled down the sign of the building at 4401 Morrison Road. The building has been vacant since 2008 and was recently bought by the Urban Land Conservancy.

"This is a major win for us," said Paul Washington, executive director of the city's Office of Economic Development, during a ceremony before the demolition.

What will become of the property hasn't been decided, but Washington said it has potential to be a commercial and core hub for the community.

The building became a hotspot for crime and was used by homeless people. A suicide and an attempted sexual assault were reported on the property in the past year.

Denver City Councilman Paul Lopez recounted for the audience the times he spent there as a child, buying snacks. But, he noted, that was more than 30 years ago and the building has since become a problem for the neighborhood.

"We need to be able to keep this property safe," he said.

Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc

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Demolition begins on old Thriftway building in Westwood in Denver