To maintain and protect one of the most historic school buildings in Denver, a move is underway to have a court-appointed caretaker take control of the property.
Located at 1840 Grant Street, the Cathedral High School was built 105 years ago by the Archdiocese of Denver.
Regarded as a historic treasure, the substantial Spanish Renaissance Revival-designed building served as a facility for Catholic instruction for more than forty years, before being repurposed as a convent.
The structure, after becoming a crisis shelter in the 1980s, was eventually abandoned and for some time slated for demolition because of its dilapidated condition. A decade ago, the New York-based GFI Development purchased the property with plans to transform it into a mixed-use property with a hotel.
Those plans never saw the light of day. Meanwhile, the structure and larger property was subject to repeated vandalism. The City of Denver ultimately informed GFI that it may be fined because the structure was in violation of a host of building violations.
To date GFI has been fined around $140,000 for the current condition of the property.
Now the City of Denver hopes the appointment of a caretaker will prevent the property from falling into further decline. That caretaker would also ensure that the property is in the best condition possible for a possible sale by GFI.
In comments appearing in the Denver Post, Denver City Council member Chris Hinds said the goal is to see the property sold and in as good a shape as possible.
“No one has reached out to me and said, ‘We need to get rid of this structure,'” said Hinds.
The emphasis instead, continued Hinds, has been on saving the property because “it’s just so different and special for our city.”
March 20, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy History Denver
