Woodland Park preservation panel to seek noncompetitive planning grant for Roberts House restoration

The Woodland Park Historic Preservation Commission agreed to pursue a noncompetitive planning grant to prepare detailed plans for restoring the Roberts House (sometimes called the Junction House) and to ask a preservation architect to lead the planning work.

Commissioners said the group originally applied for the wrong, competitive grant and received feedback from History Colorado and Saving Places that the project needs a clearer scope, floor plans and elevations before it could qualify for competitive funding. The planning grant is noncompetitive and can be submitted any time, commission members said; members discussed conflicting figures for the grant cap (speakers mentioned both $15,000 and $25,000) and said the award typically requires a local match (staff said a 10% match was mentioned in the meeting).

Why it matters: commissioners said the building contains asbestos and other hazards that must be assessed and abated before any rehabilitation. A successful planning grant would fund architectural preservation drawings, a structural assessment and a phased plan for asbestos abatement,…