A plan is moving forward to repurpose and revitalize one of the most historically visible structures in Colorado Springs.
Located at 101 S. Union Boulevard, the Union Printers Home is a building representing the way things used to be, a long time ago. Opened in 1892, the structure housed a retirement and care facility for newspaper typography workers.
Those workers very often suffered from a form of black lung disease from being exposed daily to the carbon-based ink that was then used in printing newspapers.
Situated near downtown Colorado Springs, the building, on a roughly 300-acre campus, measures around 100,000 square feet, and is treasured by preservationists for its Richardsonian Romanesque design.
The home was eventually opened to others who were not members of the International Typographical Union. Exactly ten years ago a private nursing home group purchased the facility and structure, before it was finally closed in 2020.
Now an effort led by the Union Printers Home Partners and the design firm Sasaki, which has offices in Denver, has revealed plans calling for turning the Union Printers Home campus into a mixed-use site with retail and residential space, a hotel, food hall, and plaza with water features.
The main structure, otherwise known as “The Castle,” will be preserved and upgraded.
It is thought that it could ultimately cost as much as $1 billion to upgrade, repurpose, and build on the extensive campus, with actual work beginning on the project in either late 2025 or early 2026.
By Garry Boulard