When news broke last year that the historic, family run Lake Steam Baths on West Colfax had been purchased for $2 million by a company called Boom Car Wash, LLC, many people assumed the all-nude baths would be scrapped and a car wash was would rise.
Not so. At the time, there were promises of apartments on the site. Now, new housing is not likely to happen, based on concept plans submitted to the city.
Instead, if plans are approved, the plot will be home to a five-story, 58-unit boutique hotel -- a notable move on a stretch of the city that has seen similarly sized motels demolished in recent years. Some, like the White Swan, eventually turned into housing.
Lake Steam Baths was a staple in the Russian and Jewish community.
In recent years, a mix of old-timers from nearby neighborhoods, European immigrants and younger residents frequented the space. Some were obsessed with health. Others were sweating out hangovers, like generations had in the old-Denver landmark.
But the business struggled in recent years. Its longtime owner passed away. The city shut down the bathhouse during the pandemic, and recovery proved tough and expensive.
The neighborhood was changing fast. While Lake Steam Baths continued to operate, demolition crews tore down nearby old apartment buildings, storefronts and single-unit homes for trendy, dense new builds. The family was ready to move on, too.
Some of the old history will be saved.
Both the West Colfax Association of Neighbors and the Sloans Lake Citzens group support the project, according to the application.
The bathhouse on site will still be on the ground floor, but it will become an amenity for hotel users.
"The existing facade and signage will be preserved," according to Kendall Goodman of Real Architecture, who submitted the plans and did not respond to requests for comment. "We have met with Historic Denver and are in the process of drafting a preservation agreement for the facade and sign."
