CORRECTION: This story originally reported that the grain elevator is operational based on an application provided to the city. It has been changed to reflect that the property owner shut down the elevator in 1992. Owner Cathy Richardson’s name also was incorrect in the original posting of this story. 

 

More than six months after the property was listed for sale, a petition to landmark the grain elevator and silos could complicate the sale of 0.6 acres that includes the former Lafayette Feed Grain building.

Lafayette resident Anji Redmond last month submitted a third-party nomination to the city asking that the grain elevator and three tall silos at 816 E. Baseline Road be designated a historic landmark, despite the property owner’s objections.

The potential sale of the property on the east side of town drove Redmond to submit the application. The property is listed for $560,000 and includes the Feed Grain building, but not the business, which closed earlier this year, according to the online listing.

“I became concerned about the grain elevator and tall silos last winter when I learned that Lafayette Feed Grain was listed for sale,” Redmond said in an email. “I have lived in this part of Colorado for several decades and have always seen the buildings as iconic to Lafayette.”

As part of the application process, residents helped Redmond trace the background of the grain elevator and silos. Research suggests the grain elevator was completed before the 1920s — possibly between 1905 and 1910, when the Louisville grain elevator was constructed. The Lafayette elevator was shut down in 1992 by the property owner and is no longer operational. 

Longtime residents and deeds suggest the silos were built in the 1950s and they are depicted in a Denver Post photograph from 1960.

“As you drive west on Colo. 7 surrounded by the rooftops of Erie and Broomfield, you come down over a hill and look out at the beautiful vista of the Colorado mountains. And the historic grain elevator and tall silos are a prominent part of that spectacular view,” Redmond wrote in the application. “Not only do they serve as a physical boundary of the town, but they are also a visual cue reminding you that this is home.”

Owner Cathy Richardson but the property up for sale in December, according to an online listing, as she looks to retire, said RE/MAX Alliance listing agent Steve Anderson.

Richardson would not talk about the sale but said she objects to the possible landmarking, because it violates her property rights.

Anderson said a historic designation would impose restrictions on the landowner’s rights to renovate or change the structures, making it more difficult for Richardson to sell.

Another obstacle causing hesitation among potential buyers is a section of the property owned by the city.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad in 2013 ceded a portion of the property to the city under the Rails-for-Trails program.

The trail that runs along the eastern edge of the property will not be impacted by the sale, Anderson said.

“The city owns a portion of the property, but the exact ownership lines are unclear at this time,” Lafayette spokeswoman Debbie Wilmot said. “This occurred as a result of the city taking ownership of the railroad right-of-way to build a trail.”

The property has a long history of land assessments and transfers of ownership that made it difficult for the city to know exactly where the property lines lie after the railroad provided a “quick deed and not a full blown survey” to the city, Wilmot said.

A survey is expected to be completed soon to determine if the city owns any portion of the land under the buildings for which designations are being considered.

Anderson said once the property lines are determined his client intends to purchase some or all of the city-owned property that would be included in a future sale, hopefully, attracting buyers hesitant about a piecemeal purchase.

During a City Council meeting last week, the board did not take a stance on Redmond’s landmark application.

The city’s Historic Preservation Board will consider the application during its July 6 meeting, staff liaison Roger Caruso said.

The board will determine whether the grain elevator and silos meet the criteria to be designated as historic landmarks, which include architectural, history, social, archeological, geographic and environmental factors. If the structures are deemed eligible, a recommendation will be made to City Council to designate the structures during its July 21 meeting, Caruso said.

Whitney Bryen: 303-473-1113, wbryen@coloradohometownweekly.com or twitter.com/soonerreporter