A three-story building in downtown Loveland that has served for nearly a century as a home to a Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks lodge may soon be extensively repurposed.
Located at 103 East 4th Street, the three-story brick structure has been acquired by a private investor who wants to upgrade the property and turn it into a live entertainment venue space.
The 25,000 square foot structure was built around 1906 and opened as the Hotel Lovelander before being acquired by the Elks and used as their local headquarters.
Listed as a Class C building, the structure on a less than 1-acre site, underwent some renovation in 2015 centered on maintaining it historic architectural integrity.
The purchaser, Michael Pelphrey, bought the property for $1.8 million. Press reports indicate that while converting the structure to a new purpose, Pelphrey is also determined to preserve its iconic design, which includes fluted glass around the doors and exterior wall pigmented glass tiles.
The building is listed with the Colorado Register of Historic Places.
The Elks, founded as a fraternal order in New York in 1868, have lost around 600,000 members in recent decades due to old age and death. While a number of lodges have been sold in recent years, the organization still has more than 2,000 such establishments up and running across the country.
By Garry Boulard
