PUEBLO — A long standing landmark in Pueblo will not be demolished, but its future is unclear. The City of Pueblo had plans to tear down the 90-year-old bathhouse at City Park and then build a new tennis facility. But, Mayor Heather Graham said that project is canceled because the city does not have the funding for it.
If you have visited City Park in Pueblo, then you probably recognize the stone building, known as the bathhouse. The city drew up plans to transform it into a tennis facility.
“Unfortunately, the city council voted the additional revenue sources down, which essentially kills the projects,” said Mayor Graham.
The new tennis facility project is dead.
“Dead, there are no additional dollars that will be spent,” said Mayor Graham.
As News5 has covered in the past; in May, Pueblo City Council approved $1,782,035 in grants and other funds for the project. However, Mayor Graham said because of higher costs, the city needed to find another $1,316,841 to get the project done.
WATCH: Pueblo's Mayor vetoes a local historic landmark but others push back
But, the city council decided not to give the project any more money. Council members took a vote on the funding at the last city council meeting on November 25. They voted 4-3 against.
“I don't see any dollars being allocated in the future because of the deficit the city is experiencing and general fund and so unfortunately this project is not going to move past this point,” said Mayor Graham.
“WILL ANY MONEY BE LOST?”
“The only money that is essentially lost at this point is the money that's already been spent, and I think it's around $131,000 for the design and the architect work that had already been spent,” said Mayor Graham.
Pueblo's Historic Preservation Commission has been trying to save the bathhouse, the building and its history since they first found out about the plans to demolish it earlier this year.
“Our intentions have always been simply to preserve this building. We had no goals or intentions of delaying the plan that the city had to build a new facility. Our real intention here is just to see that this building is preserved for future generations to enjoy,” said George Koncilja, who is a part of the Historic Preservation Commission and invests in historic real estate and in Pueblo. “I think City Council just ultimately, you know, realized that the cost that this building, the new building, would have come out to, just didn't make any fiscal sense. And, you know, what it amounted to was almost $1,000 per buildable square foot, which is just a staggering amount for a public restroom facility."
He said he is glad additional finding was voted down.
“I credit the counselors that voted against that waste of money,” said Koncilja.
Koncilja said he is a part of the tennis community and grew up playing tennis.
“I'm familiar with the condition of the toilets, but that doesn't mean that the building needs to be torn down,” said Koncilja.
Koncilja said the bathhouse is not in perfect condition, but they are working with others who have years of experience in renovations of historic properties.
“We know that there's some asbestos problems in the building. We've actually reached out to asbestos remediation contractors. We're hopeful that we could get a pro bono remediation done by one of them, and that would open up the doors so we can start improving the facility,” said Koncilja.
He believes the current bathhouse building is more than adequate to service the tennis facility.
“I believe an addition can be built onto this building to further enhance the amenities and I do believe that these bathrooms can be made ADA accessible, which would accommodate, you know, the entirety of the needs of the tennis community,” said Koncilja.
Now that there are no plans to tear down the bathhouse, Koncilja said a group of people including himself would like to help fix up the building and make it ADA accessible.
“We plan to reapply for the historic application, the landmark application that allows us $500,000 per year in grant money that we can apply for. But we've pegged the renovation of this building closer to $700,000; we've already raised about $140,000 in private commitments,” said Koncilja.
How much a renovation would cost is up in the air. The mayor said to keep the existing bathhouse building would cost more than a million dollars.
“SINCE THE NEW TENNIS FACILITY PROJECT IS NOT MOVING FORWARD, HOW WILL THE CITY USE THE FEDERAL MONEY THAT WAS SET ASIDE?”
“So we have reallocated the funding to purchase police vehicles for 2025,” said Mayor Graham.
She said the federal money will also go towards other park projects. These proposals will go to a vote at the next city council meeting on December 9.
___
Community Members Voice Opinions About Proposed BUC-EE'S
Some residents living near the proposed site of a new Buc-ee's convenience store along I-25 and County Line Road are opposing the company's plans.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
