PUEBLO — The Colorado Building on North Main Street in downtown Pueblo will soon become independent senior living apartments.
The historic building was built almost a century ago and has been vacant since 2005. Two Khings Development, LLC and Colorado Preservation Inc. are acquiring the building with the help of $250,000 in funds from History Colorado’s State Historical Fund.
It's one of 38 historic preservation projects happening across the state using more than $5 million in funding. Fifteen of the projects are directly benefiting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
The Colorado Building will be revitalized with 150 apartment units for people 50 years and up and disabled veterans. The plan is to include retail spaces on the ground floor, including a restaurant, grocery store, urgent care, and a nail salon.
Kenyatta Fisher and Richard Jones, owners of Two Khings Development, LLC, said the building will provide an affordable place for seniors to live, starting at $1,350 per month.
“Most of our seniors are being priced out of the rental market. They’re not thinking about them. They’re only thinking about the others and the homelessness is becoming a problem," said Fisher.
“The importance is just giving back and making sure that the elderly aren’t forgotten about. And to bring more light to the city," said Jones.
The goal is to preserve history while giving others housing stability.
Georgeanna Davis is on the waiting list to move into the Colorado Building once it is finished. She said seniors, like her, who are on a fixed income need more spaces like this.
"People like me at 72, will be 73 very shortly, I see people going in and out of drug store pharmacies. I see people that can't afford to eat. I see people that are thrown out of their apartment," she said.
Davis said residents should be overwhelmed by the work Fisher and Jones are doing. After all, Fisher is her son.
"People like my mother, our grandmothers, our aunts and uncles get to a point where they have a budgeted income. Just because they have a budgeted income doesn't mean they can't have a brand new, beautiful, affordable apartment that they can feel safe in."
He said the goal is for the apartments to be finished in about eight months.
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