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Historic-preservation advocates urge saving 209 East Midland as board weighs dangerous-building appeal
Summary
Historic-preservation committee members, architects and local residents urged the Woodland Park Board of Review to prioritize rehabilitation of 209 East Midland Avenue and noted the Historic Preservation Committee's unanimous July 7 landmark recommendation; the board balanced those appeals against regional inspectors' findings of structural and egress hazards.
At the July 14 Woodland Park Board of Review hearing, architects and preservation advocates pressed the board to favor restoration over demolition for 209 East Midland Avenue, which the Historic Preservation Committee recommended for local landmark designation on July 7.
"If historic preservation is truly one of Woodland Park's guiding principles, why is one of the city's remaining historic buildings facing condemnation and possible demolition?" Linda Allred, a licensed architect and cochair of the historic preservation committee, asked the board, citing the city comprehensive plan, the 2019 placemaking plan and municipal code Chapter 2.44 in support of preservation. Allred said the committee's unanimous recommendation for landmark designation will go before city council on Aug. 6.
Public commenter Steve Plute called the building a local landmark and said the owner had invested "hundreds of thousands of dollars" toward restoration; he urged the board to allow rehabilitation to proceed. Preservation advocates framed demolition as a permanent loss of community heritage and argued that state and local preservation funding options could help bridge the owner's financial hardship.
Regional inspectors and officials countered that the structure meets multiple dangerous-building criteria — a missing stairway, removed load-bearing wall and fire-hazard concerns — and that those hazards must be corrected to protect public safety. Architect David Langley and contractor Carl Anderson told the board they have plans to remedy the most pressing hazards but cautioned that engineering reviews and permitting can take several months.
The board did not resolve the landmark recommendation at the hearing; instead it affirmed the dangerous-building declaration while directing the owner to pursue an administrative extension with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department by July 27 to allow time to pursue remediation and any preservation funding options. Regional counsel emphasized that no demolition order has been issued to date and that demolition would be a separate administrative step if remediation fails.
The preservation advocates said they will present the landmark nomination to city council on Aug. 6 and urged the owner and regional officials to seek coordinated, pragmatic solutions that allow rehabilitation where feasible.
