Historic Preservation Board Meeting - June 2, 2025
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Historic Preservation Board Meeting - June 2, 2025
The Colorado Springs Historic Preservation Board met on June 2, 2025, at 4:30 PM in Room 701, 30 S. Nevada Ave. The meeting included communications on recent historic preservation milestones, approval of minutes and a consent calendar, and two presentations: the Palmer High School renovation project and the Historic Resource Survey Plan. No formal votes were taken on the presentations.
Communications
- William Gray, Senior Planner, announced that City Council approved the Parkside Historic District on May 27, 2025, the first area-wide Historic Preservation Overlay in nearly 25 years.
- City Council recognized Historic Preservation Month on May 27, 2025, with attendance from the Historic Preservation Alliance, Historic Neighborhood Partnership, and board members. Two properties added to the National Register were specifically recognized.
- An exhibit titled "Until Forever Comes" opens June 12, 2025, at the Pioneer Museum.
- Mellisa Wutzke, Senior Analyst, noted the next meeting will still be in Room 701 and introduced Solange Baquero Meza as the new Senior Business Support Specialist.
Consent Calendar
- Motion to approve the Consent Calendar (items 5A and 5B) passed 6‑0‑1 (Chair Lowenberg absent). Items:
- 5A: Report of Acceptability for a 275‑square‑foot ADA bathroom addition at Chadbourn Community Church (402 Conejos Street).
- 5B: Report of Acceptability to replace wooden front steps with brick steps, handrail, and columns at 1419 N Tejon Street.
Approval of Minutes
- Motion to approve the May 2, 2025, meeting minutes passed 6‑0‑1 (Chair Lowenberg absent).
Presentation: Palmer High School Renovations and Additions
- Chris Lieber (N.E.S. Inc.), Doug Abernethy (RTA Architects), Jessica Wise (Executive Director of Engagement, D11), and Christine Costa (RTA Architects) presented the $100 million project (first phase ~$85 million construction).
- The project pivoted from an HVAC upgrade to a comprehensive renovation and addition, driven by community engagement (over 50,000 touch points) and historic preservation goals.
- Key elements: restoration of the 1939 building (designed by Burnham Hoyt and Howard Bunts, featured in Architectural Forum), a new three‑story academic wing on the east side, and potential closure of Boulder Street to unify the campus (north and south blocks). The master plan includes a future athletic addition.
- The district is closing on four properties on St. Vrain Street, but no decision has been made on their future. The team committed to further community engagement, including a meeting at the end of June.
- Construction timeline: first phase completion by March 2028; academic building complete by end of 2027.
- The Board was reminded this was a presentation only, with no formal action. The properties are not in a historic preservation overlay, but four are within the North Weber Street–Wasatch Avenue Historic District.
Presentation: Historic Resource Survey Plan
- Ron Sladek (Tatanka Historical Associates) presented the draft survey plan. The board has had the draft for several weeks.
- Comments have been received from the public, Historic Preservation Alliance, Historic Neighborhood Partnership, History Colorado Grants Office, and city departments. The plan is being revised with the goal of adoption at the July 7, 2025, board meeting.
- Board members provided input on themes to include (e.g., cultural centers, minority‑owned resources, micro‑districts) and prioritization of survey areas (e.g., older neighborhoods under gentrification pressure, areas with outdated surveys from the 1970s–80s).
- Ron Sladek noted he will address all comments and produce a final version for the July meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The Consent Calendar and May 2 minutes were approved unanimously (6‑0‑1).
- No formal action was taken on the Palmer High School or Historic Resource Survey Plan presentations.
- The Historic Resource Survey Plan is expected to be presented for adoption at the July 7, 2025, board meeting.
- The CLG Coordinator (Lindsey Flewelling) did not attend; the item was informational only.
- The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:45 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Go ahead, Paul. All right, good afternoon, and welcome to the Colorado Springs Historic Preservation Board meeting for June 2nd, 2025. The Historic Preservation Board is comprised of seven members appointed by City Council. To administer the Historic Preservation Code. Each member acts independently, carefully assessing all the evidence presented to make their decisions. Melissa, would you please do a roll call? Chair Lowenberg. Board Member Music. Present. Board Member Baumgartner. Here. Board Member Fitzsimmons. Present. Thank you. Board Member Potter. Board Member Beerbaum? Here. And Board Member Hines. Here. Thank you. We have six present. All right. Next, I don't see any changes to the agenda or postponements. So we would go right into communications with Mr. Bill Gray. All right. So this is Bill Gray, with the city planning department. These are communications for the board. Number one, just I think as a reminder, I already said that yourself muted. While we're uh in the meeting, uh you can unmute yourself if you're called upon. Um and a couple, I think very important or maybe the most important thing to announce is that city council approved the parkside historic district on uh May 27th. And I believe we have Cheryl Brown on line, so um wants to give Cheryl a big round of applause and all those strict um that uh I believe this is the first like area wide historic preservation overlay that the city has had in almost 25 years, so um a quarter of a decade. Um so uh we also at the May 27th um city council meeting. We recognized uh historic uh preservation month. It was attended by uh members of the historic preservation alliance, the historic neighborhood partnership. We had historic preservation board members, other um citizens that um uh supported historic preservation. Um pretty decent um uh I think it was a decent turnout for that um and city council um did um give specific recognition to um the two two two properties that were added to the national uh register of historic places um as part of that meeting and also we did recognize the parkside uh historic district at that meeting and then one just one last thing for everyone that's interested in uh what can you also continue to do to celebrate your history? Well, there's a pretty cool opening coming coming to the Pioneer Museum, it's until forever comes. It opens June 12th. So um, yeah, if you want to see something that has um that's been a long time coming and worked specifically with the city and the tribes um in the area, it's gonna be a pretty good pretty good exhibit. And that's all I have for the board. I have a couple things real quick. Thank you. So just a reminder to the board members. Um, next month's meeting will still be in this room. Hopefully, that will be the end of having meetings necessarily give back to 102, where it's a little more spacious. Um, but if that changes, I will let you all know. And then the second thing is I wanted to introduce Salange. She is our new senior business support specialist. So um after six months, I've got some help.
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