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Preservation Tax Credits Success Stories
Since July 2015, when the Job Creation and Main Street Revitalization Act went into effect, credits have been reserved for over 250 projects across Colorado. The goal of the program is to provide a state incentive to property owners and developers to bring new life into dilapidated, vacant, or underutilized properties. The economic impact varies on many levels from close to $650 million investment with a total of over 800 new residential units, creation of 2400 new jobs, and $61 million in generated taxes, these projects create ripple effects within their communities. Read below for a few of these success stories!
Calkins School Apartments
Located in the Four Corners region, Calkins School was built in 1909 to serve the growing community of Cortez. By 2008, the school fell into a vacant status and was purchased by the Housing Authority of the County of Montezuma. In collaboration with a private developer, the school was converted into twelve affordable housing units. The developer was also able to build two new apartment buildings next door in order for the project to be financially feasible and best serve the needs of the community.
Boys and Girls Club of Weld County
Historically known as the Warnoco Skating Rink, the building is now home to one of the newest Boys and Girls Club of Weld County teen centers. Having sat underutilized for years, the building now provides a safe location for local teens to learn life skills and participate in afterschool activities. While the building no longer serves as the Warnoco Skating Rink, the Club retained many features characteristic of the skating rink era including the open wood truss ceiling, wood flooring, and the joy the space brings to the youth of the community.
Pancratia Hall; Loretto Heights
What was once the southwest edge of Denver, stood Loretto Heights, a campus dedicated to providing educational opportunities to young ladies beginning in the late 1800s and closing in 1941. Pancratia Hall served as classrooms and dormitories for the attendees. After a multi-year project, the rehabilitation of the building into 74 affordable housing apartments ranging from 1-3 bedroom units was completed in 2022.
Montrose Potato Growers Association
Out on the Western Slope in Montrose you will find a vibrant community that is all about preserving their heritage. One of those projects is The Montrose Potato Growers Association Building. Having sat vacant for decades, the owner of Storm King Distillery saw the potential to transform the building into a social space providing food and beverage vendor spaces, rooms for parties, and a place for the community to recognize as part of their history. From a building with a collapsed room and a basement that flooded to a fully rehabilitated building with new windows, decks, roof, and interior finishes, the building is a place to visit the next time in Montrose.
Plaza Block
The Plaza Block is the last extant nineteenth-century building on Highway 50 in La Junta. Considered an eyesore since the 1970s, some believed tearing it down was the easiest solution to its dilapidated state. However, when demolition funding was denied, local organizations united to create a rehabilitation plan, breathing new life into the building. The building will provide a much needed space for community gatherings on the first floor including a full commercial kitchen and on the second floor there are two one bedroom apartments.