Students and faculty from three schools are working together on historic preservation projects, thanks to a $200,000 grant from the State Historical Fund.
The projects are part of a new program aimed at training students in historic preservation principles and skills.
“We need to grow the capacity in Colorado to take care of the structures that are aging,” said James Stratis, State Historical Fund preservation projects manager. “There’s a need to produce craftsmen and architects.”
The schools participating in the Preservation Technology Partnership are the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Colorado State University and Colorado Mountain College. Each brings its own expertise to the table:
CU-Denver offers a certificate in historic preservation through its graduate-level College of Architecture and Planning and the Department of History.
CSU offers a master’s degree in construction management with an emphasis in historic preservation. It also houses the Architecture Preservation Institute.
CMC offers an associate’s degree in preservation studies emphasizing crafts and trades such as carpentry, masonry and plastering.
The first project will be to restore the 1,800-acre Hayden Ranch near Leadville, built in the 1870s. When the work is complete, the ranch will become the home of Colorado Mountain College’s preservation studies program.
The program also is negotiating with The Georgetown Trust for a second project at Georgetown School. Built in 1874, the landmark will be renovated with grants from the State Historical Fund.
Developers who have worked on historic preservation projects say the program will fill a need in the industry.
“There are few programs around the country,” said Charlie Woolley, president of St. Charles Town Co., which recently redeveloped the Lowenstein Theatre on East Colfax for the Tattered Cover Book Store. “Mostly people learn through experience.
“On your first project, you inevitably overlook many things that present challenges from a structural point of view and a use point of view that you would never consider if you did ground-up development.”
Since 1993, the historical fund has awarded more than $176 million in grants to nearly 3,000 projects that include preserving schools, town halls and agricultural sites. Rehabilitation projects brought $2 billion to the state’s economy between 1981 and 2005, according to the Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation in Colorado study for the Colorado Historical Foundation.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
