After months of discussions over its future, Carmen Court owners who want to sell their properties and residents interested in preserving the complex have come to an agreement.
Sarah McCarthy said her group withdrew a landmark application for the property on Oct. 22. McCarthy said Hines, a development company that wants to build a senior living community on the land, agreed to delay the condo complex's demolition until the project is "shovel ready." The city's planning department said that means there won't be a demolition "until all building permits have been issued and construction is ready to commence."
The agreement provides a larger window of time for another buyer to scoop up the property and preserve it or for the developers to find a way to reuse the condo complex. But McCarthy admits the chances of those options happening are slim.
"Time is a friend of preservation," McCarthy said. "We're hopeful that something will come along that will encourage its long-term preservation and its adaptive reuse."
Hines Managing Director Chris Crawford has participated in committee meetings to discuss the company's interest in the apartment complex in the Speer neighborhood.
"We are pleased that a compromise was reached with the three applicants and applaud the City for its ability to facilitate this deal," Crawford said in a statement to Denverite. "This is a positive outcome for homeowners in the Denver metro area -- and most importantly the group of Carmen Court homeowners who championed this cause with patience and strength."
Built in 1925, the complex has six units and seven owners.
