“We negotiated up the price,” said Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 Superintendent Alex Carter.
Linda Towle, of the Cortez Historic Preservation Board, was thrilled to learn of the pending sale. She and other residents have worked to preserve the boarded-up Calkins Buildings for years, and developers told her that they were committed to including some type of public museum and display space in the renovated structure, she said.
“The investors have excellent credentials,” said Towle. “They have done this type of historic preservation before, so I’m confident that the Calkins Building will continue to be a landmark in our community.”
It’s unknown when the district will execute the final contract with Brian Burton, principal of the Kansas City-based Calkins Redevelopment Corp. His partners include Becky Barber, a certified distressed property expert; Donald Rich, an authority on historic projects; Mike Marsh, an accountant who specializes in historic tax credits; and Elizabeth Rosin, an archaeologist.
Exempt from taxes, the two-story former schoolhouse in downtown Cortez has never been appraised, according to the Montezuma County Assessor’s Office. The 6.65 acres of land surrounding the building is valued at $154,280.
Asked via email on Wednesday to confirm if the $275,000 purchase price included the land, Carter didn’t respond. Included in the same email, Carter also didn’t reply when asked to provide the value of the Calkins Building.
The building underwent some renovation about a decade ago with hopes to remodel the structure for district administrative purposes, but the project was shelved in 2008 because of a lack of funding. It was estimated at the time that renovation efforts could cost as much as $5 million.
“We’re checking off a high liability,” Carter told board members after they approved the sale at their regularly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Asked via email to elaborate, Carter declined to say how much money the district had invested to renovate the building, or whether the district would reimburse any secured grant funds for earlier renovation efforts. Carter also didn’t respond to public comments that the sell price was low.
Burton was also asked via email to describe any proposed or specific use plans for the building, whether the community would have a say regarding its future use, how much money would be invested, and a timeline for the project. He didn’t reply.
In December, Burton told school officials that he and his partners would seek to have the 106-year structure placed on the National Register of Historic Places, a six-month process that could cost up to $40,000, he said.
Swedish immigrant Peter Baxstrom constructed the Calkins Building in 1909. Named in honor of Dr. Royal W. Calkins, a local physician and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, the building served as the Cortez schoolhouse until 1947. Junior-high students attended the school through the mid-1960s.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com