Cheyenne council hears $4 million estimate to restore historic pump house

City consultants updated the Cheyenne City Council on plans to restore the city’s historic pump house and estimated the full rehabilitation at about $4 million, with construction costs near $3.5 million and a contingency line of more than $500,000.

The pump house, built in 1892 and roughly 3,800 square feet, was described by Brandy Byers of TDSI as a structurally sound sandstone building that has been out of service as a pumping facility since the early 1920s. “We believe that that construction is approximately 3,500,000,” Byers said, and added that the “overall project cost shown here, with all of the other soft cost is about 4,000,000.”

The State Historic Preservation Office has indicated in writing that the building is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places if later additions are removed, Byers said. The city’s presentation described masonry and roof issues, fires and vandalism, and the absence of utilities in the building; presenters said all mechanical, electrical and interior work would be new if the project moves forward.

Why it matters: council members framed the restoration as both a historic-preservation and public-lands question because the pump house sits adjacent to the city greenway and wetlands. Councilman Layborn reminded colleagues that the site ties into a long-running effort to address stormwater pollution on Fifteenth Street, including a Section 319 nonpoint source grant the city received years earlier to study and improve water quality in Crow Creek. He said the wetland and greenway connections should be considered alongside any decision to…