Historic Designation: Lakewood Hospice Property Moves Forward

LAKEWOOD, CO – A long-abandoned medical facility on 2.5 acres in Lakewood's Eiber neighborhood will be remodeled into 49 affordable-housing residential units, plus a manager's apartment, thanks to some creative financing and the designation of the site as a local landmark by the City of Lakewood's historic preservation commission.

The former Hospice of St. John was granted a landmark designation at a May 15 meeting of the commission. The site at 1310, 1320 and 1325 Everett Ct. consists of one-story apartments, built in the 1960s, circling two memorial gardens and an 80-85 space parking lot.

The Hospice of St. John site was found to have historical value because of the religious hospice organization that operated there between 1977-2013 run by Father Paul Lobkowitz, a monk with the Knights of Malta. Volunteers and nursing staff helped care for 25,000 dying patients "regardless of race, religious affiliation or financial means," the commission's nominating documents said. The hospice was a groundbreaker nationwide and was in place to care for AIDS patients during the nation's epidemic between 1987-1995.

With the historic designation, developers can receive tax rebates from the federal government for up to 30 percent of costs, as well as state preservation tax rebates from History Colorado for between 20-30 percent of the remodeling costs.

The new development, tentatively called Eiber Village, will feature "1-2 bedroom sustainable apartments, listed below market rate," James Hartman of Hartman Ely Investments told the commission at the March hearing. the plans will also include a pedestrian path to the nearby RTD Light Rail station. The site will also include "low-water landscaping, solar panels and electric charging stations."

The property was purchased in 2015 by Rachel O’Connell-Wickersham for $1.31 million. The site had closed in 2013 facing unmanageable cuts in federal medicaid funds for the hospice business. The Hospice of St. John Foundation went into bankruptcy.

At the time of the sale, BusinessDen reported that the abandoned buildings were boarded up and "thieves [had] made off with many of the copper fixtures."

At the time of the sale, O’Connell-Wickersham planned to spend $3 million to remodel the buildings for a senior assisted living center. She indicated that she wanted to eventually scrape the property and construct apartments on the site. “Someday there may be 200 apartment units there,” she told BusinessDen. Hartman Ely had a 25 Percent ownership in the project, the business news source reported in 2015.

The project cost has now risen to $11 million, but the historical designation will keep the property from being torn down and redeveloped, Hartman told Patch.

"The reason that this redevelopment has taken such a long time to get to this stage of starting to move forward with more detailed planning is primarily due to it being a very complex financial puzzle to figure out," Hartman said in an email. "The historic designation will place some restrictions on future property use."

Hartman's firm is co-investor in the project. Hartman Ely has been successful in remodeling historic buildings in metro Denver, including the conversion of Fruitdale School in Wheat Ridge to an affordable housing complex using $1 million in state historic tax credits as well as solar power production credits from Xcel Energy and other city and county grants.

The company also received $50,000 in historic preservation tax credits for a project placing large solar collection panels on Hangar 2 at the former Lowery Air Force Base, said Mark Rodman, History Colorado's chief preservation programs officer.

Image via Hartman Ely Investors