by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The City Council’s hopes for retaining historic downtown sites is slowly working its way through the process, and the leader of the Council’s Historic Task Force says that five of the 13 proposed ordinances will get approval soon.
Council member Jim Overton, who has been working with a task force for almost a year, says the two-inch thick document will produce results — later, if not sooner.
“I have a commitment from our [incoming] Council president, Jerry Holland, to help us,” said Overton, who represents a Westside district. “That’s vital — the president sets the pace of legislation working through the process.”
The numerous proposed ordinances range from incentive policies to appearance of buildings.
“It is an engine for economic growth downtown,” said Overton, speaking to about 60 members of the Chamber’s Downtown Council on a rainy Friday morning at River City Brewing Company. “It is imperative that we retain our history. We may not have a Liberty Bell or a U.S. Capitol, but we have a lot of neat stuff that should live forever.”
He said that several investors are interested in what Overton called “our neatest corner,” the northeast corner of Forsyth and Laura streets. The City purchased the three buildings there, including the “Marble Bank,” and is trying to come up with a creative scheme to provide the necessary parking.
One proposal is to require a cooling-off period to give the City time to retain buildings which are scheduled to be demolished. It would allow 60 days, “a time for the City to see if it could help the building owner come up with alternatives which would allow the building to be saved.”
In response to the question “What can the average person do to help?” Overton replied, “Move downtown. Let me tell you — if you every want to invest in downtown, there’s no better time than right now. Things are happening and will continue to happen.
“Some people in Denver took a chance and built lofts downtown, and they made a fortune. I know there are challenges — there doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest from the banks in doing downtown deals, for instance — but that will change.”