Walking up to Jim Sonnleitner’s home in Denver’s Jefferson Park, you begin to question what the fuss is all about.
activists led by their councilman, Rafael Espinoza, filed an application to designate Sonnleitner’s 19th century, Victorian-style home a historic structure, against the homeowner’s wishes.
But the house is a dump.
Steps are rotted. Paint is peeling and the doorbell doesn’t work. Upon entering the home, you see things are much worse.
A mouse scampers by, the dingy-colored plaster is cracked and the floor is heaved.
“The kitchen is absurd,” says Sonnleitner, pointing out that the sink, fridge and range are in separate rooms.
And the smell, is, well, not good.
On Oct. 6, the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission will consider whether 2329 Eliot St. deserves historic designation, an issue that could ultimately be decided by the City Council.
The case pits preservationists against property rights advocates and is emblematic of the development pressures in Denver, where infill projects are booming to handle the increased housing need.
The housing stock in many neighborhoods is changing dramatically.
Nevertheless, it is not a fight Sonnleitner, a 63-year-old roofer, wants any part of.
“I’m just trying to sell out,” he said. “I am sick of roofing.”
Sonnleitner bought the 2,243-square-foot home in 1990 and has filled it with tons of old, rusting tools.
Months ago he accepted an offer for $1 million for the home and adjacent property — conditional on obtaining the certificate of non-historic status to ensure redevelopment.
Developer Nathan Adams wants to build 18 townhomes on the site. Earlier this summer, Adams filed suit in hopes of having the preservation application thrown out. However, a t, saying the process may continue.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s business but my own,” Sonnleitner says while standing in his dimly lit dining room. “Why would anyone give a (rhymes with spit)?”
He has a point. It would cost hundreds of thousands to fix up the home — repair foundations, sewer lines and gut the interior.
Yet, Espinoza says the home has “significant historical value.”
The structure is said to have once belonged to William Anderson, the lawyer for Alfred Packer — the 19th century prospector who confessed to cannibalism. So what? That kind of tangential relationship to a famous figure should not factor in historic designation.
Espinoza says he has Sonnleitner’s interest at heart, saying he has heard from at least two development groups that want to buy the property regardless of designation.
He fears Sonnleitner is being manipulated by a developer that purely wants to make a profit.
“This is a bad deal for Jim,” Espinoza says. “The only person who doesn’t realize that is Jim. If he would just let himself receive other offers from developers.”
Sonnleitner tells me he has heard from one developer who will pay him a hefty sum and keep the home intact.
“I win either way,” he says.
But still, the fight goes on.
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: jpmeyerdpost
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