In a move that blends preservation with conservation, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to allow all windows in downtown’s historic Fontius building to be replaced.
The vote brings about a resolution between developer Evan Makovsky, who said restoring the building’s original windows would not be energy-efficient, and the commission, which sought to maintain the historic integrity of the building fronting the 16th Street Mall.
Makovsky found a custom- window company to build replicas of the building’s original windows based on the original architectural drawings. The brass hardware will be restored and reused, and the historically significant function of the pivoting windows will be retained.
“I hope this becomes a potential basis to bring preservation and conservation together in a way we can all live with,” Makovsky said.
It will cost him about $300,000 more than it would to restore the original windows but will save about $2.2 million in maintenance and energy costs over 10 years. The building’s facade is 53 percent glass.
“People don’t realize that 48 percent of energy in the nation is used by buildings,” said Brian Klipp of Denver architecture firm klipp. “A 5 to 10 percent reduction (in energy use) is enormous.”
Everett Shigeta, preservation architect for the city’s Community Planning and Development department, encouraged the commission to approve the plan.
“A significant historic building in downtown Denver will be restored; Greenprint Denver will be served,” he said.
Makovsky acquired the Fontius building from owner Gary Cook and his family, who had long been criticized for letting it fall into disrepair. The building is viewed as a crucial bridge between the 16th Street Mall and the Colorado Convention Center.
Representatives from the National Trust for Historic Places and Historic Denver addressed the commission in support of Makovsky’s solution.
When the commission voted in September to require Makovsky to restore the windows facing the mall, he said it would jeopardize a deal with a potential tenant that would occupy the top three floors of the four-story building.
“Presumably, we have the tenant subject to the approval of the windows,” Ma kovsky said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
