The Denver City Council is considering a proposal to expand the East Seventh Avenue Historic District to include 19 properties within the Congress Park neighborhood.

The council’s land use committee unanimously advanced the proposal Tuesday, passing it on to the full council for two final votes in the coming weeks. If passed, the expanded historic district would prevent the properties from being demolished or significantly altered.

“Historic designation would help preserve the character defining features of the district,” said Senior City Planner Jenny Buddenborg. “The intent of the designation is to recognize this unique district, the buildings that define it and its contributions to the historic fabric of the Congress Park neighborhood.”

The properties are considered historically significant because of their construction during Denver’s City Beautiful Movement in the early 1900s. In addition, the area housed Raymond Dean Jones for over 40 years, Colorado’s first African American appellate judge and a leader in Denver’s civil rights movement.

Of the 19 properties, 16 embody the distinctive physical characteristics of the craftsman architectural style, Buddenborg said.

Denver’s ban on flavored tobacco advances with new 2023 implementation date

Three property owners within the proposed historic district applied for the expanded designation. In an online community survey, 21 respondents were in support, one was neutral and three were in opposition. That includes 14 property owners, only three of whom were in opposition.

“We want to preserve the beautiful character of this historic neighborhood,” one commenter wrote in support. “The possibility of having one of these homes scraped and replaced with a big ‘beach’ house (big box with windows) breaks our hearts.”

“By placing additional restrictions on the zoning, we make this a less affordable neighborhood than it already is,” another commenter wrote in opposition. “It also places an unnecessary administrative burden for low-income home owners.”

Buddenborg said nearly all people in opposition to the historic designation expressed concern about the city having to approve significant alterations made to the exteriors of their homes.

The designation would provide the owners of the 19 properties access to a 20% tax credit from the state and would maintain stability in the neighborhood’s property values, Buddenborg said.

Denver council OKs first managed homeless camp on city property

Despite the majority support from community members, some council members said they were uncomfortable with approving the designation without support from all affected homeowners.

“What concerns me is that three of the property owners oppose it,” Councilwoman Kendra Black said. “It gives me angst to designate somebody’s property without their permission.”

On Tuesday, the land use committee also advanced a proposal to designate Pancratia Hall at 3001 S. Federal Blvd. as a city landmark. Pancratia Hall is 91 years old and part of the former Loretto Heights College campus.

Buddenborg said the hall, named after Mother Mary Pancratia, is historically significant because of its connection to the Sisters of Loretto and its distinctive collegiate gothic style. The proposal received unanimous support from community members and the committee.

Denver has 352 individual landmarks and 57 historic districts, including two historic cultural districts in the La Alma Lincoln Park and Five Points neighborhoods. This amounts to around 7,200 designated structures citywide.