Title
A resolution authorizing City Staff to execute an amended and modified deed of conservation easement for the Santa Fe Depot building removing approximately 1.5 acres of parking lot, drive aisle, and landscape area from the easement.
Presenter:
Ryan Tefertiller, Urban Planning Manager
Peter Wysocki, Planning and Community Development Director
Body
Summary:
In late-2014 the O'Neil Group Company, LLC (OGC) purchased the Santa Fe Depot and the surrounding buildings with the goal to create "The Catalyst Campus, a collaborative ecosystem where industry, education, and the entrepreneurial spirit come together to create community, technological advancement and a highly-skilled workforce." The primary building on the campus is the Santa Fe Depot which was completed in 1917 and served as the rail depot for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad from 1917 to 1971 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1981 the City Council approved a resolution establishing a historic preservation conservation easement on the property to protect the historic integrity of this unique asset. In 2015 the City of Colorado Springs worked with OGC to obtain a $150,000 grant from the State Historic Fund (SHF) to improve and maintain the building. During discussions regarding the building's necessary maintenance, the State's requirements for preservation easements when allocating funding from the SHF, and future plans for expansion on the campus, it became obvious that the time was right to update the 35 year old easement.
The specific element of the easement that is proposed to be modified is the legal description which establishes the boundaries of the preservation area. The existing easement's legal description matches the parcel configuration that existed at the time the easement was recorded and extends over 300 feet south of the building. The result is that approximately 22,000 square feet of parking lot is encumbered by the easement and...
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