The iconic Five Points property located at 2199 California St., long recognized as the former home of Denver’s beloved Mercury Cafe, has hit another major financial hurdle. On September 11, the property was officially listed on a public notice of delinquent property taxes, revealing that the site owes $60,573 in unpaid taxes and accumulated interest.
The public listing sets the stage for a municipal tax lien auction scheduled to begin on November 4. However, city officials emphasize that a tax lien sale does not immediately strip the building owner of their real estate holdings.
Nick Marion, a marketing and communications specialist for the Denver Department of Finance, explained the precise legal mechanics of the upcoming auction and what it actually means for the property’s ownership status:
“The highest bidder wins the right to hold the tax lien certificate by paying the delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and fees owed to the City and County of Denver. Purchasing this tax lien doesn’t give the investor ownership rights; the property owner retains ownership of the property,” Marion says. “Buyers at a tax lien auction receive tax lien certificates, which provide them the legal right to collect the unpaid property taxes plus high statutory interest from the property owner. This interest is based on the Federal Reserve discount rate plus 9%.”
Marion further detailed that the legal framework grants the property owner a substantial three-year grace period following the conclusion of the November auction to settle their debt:
“If the property owner doesn’t pay back their delinquent taxes, interest, penalties and fees, the buyer can apply to take ownership of the property via public auction,” Marion says.
Current building owner Danny Newman originally purchased the structure from founder Marilyn Megenity in 2021. Newman operated the cultural staple until the summer of 2024, when he put the property up for sale following ongoing challenges with the aging building’s maintenance, alongside staffing, financial, and personal difficulties. Although Newman was unable to secure a buyer, he leased the space to Ashlee Cassity and Dom Garcia, former owners of sapphic speakesy Pearl Divers.
Cassity and Garcia reopened the space as The Pearl, a sapphic bar, while continuing to host the community’s longstanding swing dance, poetry, music, and tarot groups that had met under the roof for over 30 years.Financial and maintenance struggles soon resurfaced, however. By April 15, the city seized The Pearl’s property because the business owed approximately $56,000 in unpaid sales and occupational privilege taxes.
The historic building has remained shuttered ever since, leaving the ultimate fate of 2199 California St. hanging in the balance as the November tax lien auction approaches. Garcia has since opened a new bar in the space that formerly housed Denver Sweet.
