Revised plans preserve parts of the historic El Chapultepec building in Denver's LoDo
Historic Denver and two citizens who filed for protective landmark status for the building that housed the former El Chapultepec nightclub have withdrawn their efforts after negotiations with the developer have led to changes in the design of development on the property.
"It's a win-win," said John Deffenbaugh, President and CEO of Historic Denver.
It means the un-doing of a previous design that incorporated signs left on the 130-year-old building where the legendary jazz bar existed for 87 years until its closing in 2020. That design featured a patio on the first floor and the removal of exterior walls, which the developer, Monfort Companies believed were crumbling.
But the new design incorporates portions of the exterior walls at the corner of 20th and Market. The walls will be shored up and backed up by structural steel, which will be load-bearing for an upper-floor deck that will extend from the old Pec to the historic building next door on Market Street that currently houses the Giggling Grizzly bar. That bar, says Monfort, will not be renewed. There will be windows along some of the former exterior walls of the old El Chapultepec that can be opened for an open-air experience on the ground floor.
The property, says Executive Vice President of Monfort Companies Kenneth Monfort will become a singular dining forward facility they believe there is a market for in the LoDo and Ballpark area. Monfort and Historic Denver signed a memorandum of understanding codifying design.
The Denver City Council will no longer be asked to consider historic designation for the building, but the design will still have to be approved by the LoDo Design Review Commission. Monfort says he hopes to begin that process right away and construction to begin hopefully next year.
Deffenbaugh was pleased, "The aspiration wasn't to bring back the Pec, but to honor its legacy."
El Chapultepec's exterior hanging signs and signature red front door will be incorporated, but the inside will change.
