The future of two 130-year-old buildings falling apart along East Colfax Avenue is in limbo as tensions brew between the developer, the city and neighbors.
The once-stately mansions at 1600 and 1618 E. Colfax Ave. looked more like the facade in a haunted-house movie during a visit last week. Pigeons flew out from between the jagged glass of broken windows rimmed in soot from a blaze in March that Denver firefighters had to extinguish from outside the connected structures due to pre-existing deterioration.
Portions of the roof of the long-vacant buildings have caved in leaving the interior exposed. A toppled chimney has left stray bricks piled up near the eaves. Graffitied wooden boards and wire fencing cover entry points, although the structure is known to be a respite for squatters, according to neighbor Van Schoales, who said he calls Denver police several times a year on activity related to the dilapidated property adjacent to his Queen Anne Victorian home.
Schoales agreed with developer Kiely Wilson, whose firm Pando Holdings bought the buildings in 2017 for $3.2 million with plans to demolish the structures to make way for something new. But Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission voted against demolition because the buildings are part of the Wyman Historic District.
City officials and the preservation-focused nonprofit Historic Denver are pushing for restoration instead.
Wilson appealed the commission’s vote, arguing that preserving and restoring the properties would be a financial burden.
“I’m a liberal Democrat, but this property is enough to make me want to go Republican in terms of government oversight,” Schoales said.
The friction on display at this Colfax Avenue corner is a Denver tale as old as time: How does a community preserve its history and develop to meet the needs of its future?
The structures in question were built during the late 1890s as the Cheesman Park neighborhood along East Colfax Avenue boomed with the advent of the cable car, according to city documents. The two buildings originally served as large corner mansions with primary Colfax frontages, but storefronts were added in 1938 as the area shifted from residential to commercial.
In 1993, the area was designated as the Wyman Historic District, meaning structures classified as adding to the historical integrity or architectural qualities of the district require approval by the Landmark Preservation Commission before any changes to the exterior.
“These buildings are the last remaining historically protected large homes on East Colfax,” said John Deffenbaugh, president of Historic Denver. “Both buildings’ presence is integral to the character of the overall district and can’t be demolished without approval.”
Deffenbaugh acknowledged that the structures have become a public safety concern, but said Wilson purchased them knowing their historic status.
“If we were to approve demolition, that could create a very dangerous precedent for other landmark buildings in the city,” Deffenbaugh said.
When Wilson bought the buildings, Denver city planner Brittany Bryant said Pando Holdings submitted plans for a mixed-use, seven-story residential tower that preserved the existing structures. The plan was approved, Bryant said, and was moving through the permitting process when the fire struck one of the buildings in March.
Officials with the Denver Fire Department this week said the cause of the fire remains undetermined, but a homeless or transient person was possibly involved.
Shortly after the blaze, Pando was hit with a letter from the city notifying him the buildings were deemed unsafe. Both structures are on Denver’s neglected and derelict building list. Pando had until June to either demolish or fix them.
Wilson opted for demolition, but the Landmark Preservation Commission shot him down in June.
“The buildings are an obvious danger to public safety and also the safety of police and firefighters that have to respond to the site,” Wilson said.
The structures should be demolished, Wilson said, so the site can be cleared, graded and fenced to put public safety concerns to rest.
“We would then work with the Landmark Commission and come up with the new plan that could inspire, add affordability and help with some momentum for our stretch of Colfax,” Wilson said. “It’s in rough shape right now but has potential.”
Over the past two years, Denver police received 12 calls for service to the property, most for trespassing.
Schoales said he called a few months ago after a trespasser threatened to “mess him up” when Schoales asked the man not to block the alleyway.
“I’m no fan of most of the development, which I think is pretty hideous, in Denver. But it just seems crazy to me to expect those buildings to be quote-unquote preserved,” Schoales said, noting he lives in a historic home and deals with repairs. “I’m actually quite puzzled as to what is restorable.”
Bryant, the city planner, said it’s up to the owner to decide how he wants to rehabilitate the property.
“We want to be good stewards to the community,” Bryant said. “It’s important to us that something is done to the buildings so the community feels good about the condition they’re in. … We just want to uphold our commitment we made in 1993 to recognize this is a historic district. … We want to honor what we were told was significant and make sure we’re protecting that history.”
Schoales worries if something isn’t done soon, the developer will sell.
“Then it will be another decade before something gets done,” Schoales said. “I would like to see someone that cares about the neighborhood and the historic nature of the neighborhood work with the developers to make something work that’s a compromise.”
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