Colorado Preservation Inc. is restoring the exterior of a 5,000-square-foot Victorian home in Curtis Park, a project the group says will employ 12 construction workers.
The nonprofit organization paid $500,000 for the abandoned home in July 2007. It received a $100,000 interest-free loan from member Elizabeth Schlosser for the down payment and financed the rest through Colorado Bank and Trust.
The group is using a $200,000 grant from the State Historical Fund to pay for the renovations to the home, at 2601 Champa St.
“The end goal is to restore the exterior and put it back on the market and have someone who is preservation-friendly buy it either for private offices or a home,” said Mary Allman-Koernig, executive director of Colorado Preservation. “If we make some money from the sale, we will be able to invest it in other properties.”
The Boettcher Foundation has agreed to match any profit Colorado Preservation makes up to $80,000.
The home was built in 1880 by ore and bullion dealer James Matthews. Isaac Gotthelf, who was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1876, purchased the home for $25,000 in 1890 and lived there until 1915.
Curtis Park, one of Denver’s oldest neighborhoods on downtown’s northern edge, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. Over the past few years, the area has experienced a renaissance as new housing lures young professionals.
“Infill has been the salvation of the neighborhood,” Schlosser said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
