![]() A unique project transforming a longstanding gas station in Denver into a popular Italian restaurant is being singled out by a preservation group for its sustainability. The former Phillips 66 gas station and later Meineke muffler shop at 5839 East Colfax Avenue was purchased by businessman and restauranteur Brad Anderson in early 2018, with the idea of keeping the building’s mid-20th century modern design intact. Although the project took longer than expected owing to the pandemic the new restaurant, called Benzina, was opened for business by the late summer of 2021. In the process, the distinctive protruding at the front of the building was preserved to create an outdoor patio-style dining space, with the former garage bays similarly reused for dining. The group Historic Denver, Incorporated is saluting the gas station transformation, along with four other recent adaptive reuse projects in the city as examples of where historic preservation and sustainability in Denver should be going. “Historic buildings are community assets and part of our cultural fabric,” John Lucero, chairman of Historic Denver, said in announcing the project winners. “What’s more, preserving them is compatible with growth, affordability, sustainability, and inclusivity—and our 2022 award recipients are living proof.” The other recipients: the transformation of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School at 1250 Weldon Street into a mixed-use space; the Colburn Hotel at 980 Grant Street, turned into an affordable housing complex; the Pancratia Hall at 3144 West Frances Place, turning a one-time dorm and class space also into affordable housing; and the Martin Building, a part of the Denver Art Museum, recently restored with its one million glass tiles preserved. By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|