EVERGREEN — Jeff Bradley’s great-grandfather “won downtown Evergreen in a poker tournament,” according to family lore.
John Ross’ supposed winnings — a number of buildings — are still in the family, owned by the Ross Lewis Trust and managed by Bradley. Now one of them is getting some much-needed rehabilitation.
Eight years ago, the building at the northwest corner of Colorado 74 and Douglas Park Road was invaded by raccoons that inhabited the foundation, chewed through electrical wiring and forced out then-tenant, Evergreen Crafters. The “crafters” building — which dates at least to the 1930s — has been empty ever since.
“It’s so sad to see a historical building like that go down,” said Susan Fariss, owner of Evergreen Crafters, which moved to a building across the street. “But it’s going to be really nice to have something nice right in the middle of downtown. It will make the town look better and it will be .”
Bradley said zoning issues were an obstacle in making any structural changes to the building. Like most of the buildings in historic downtown Evergreen, the setbacks are not compliant with current zoning standards.
He finally got a variance for a rehabbed building on the blueprint of a former building. it will occupy about two-thirds of the space.
Bradley said once the building work is done, he’ll seek another retail tenant, likely a gift shop.
“Every town like Evergreen should have a place that sells T-shirts and plastic tomahawks,” he said. “That’s what I think should go there.”
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or @JosieKlemaier
