The Old Firehouse     July 4, 2024

When we started work on the Old Firehouse project in Ridgway, Colorado, we didn't completely understand its magnitude, or its significance to the community that hosts it.

The idea was to gut, stabilize, restore, and build new structures around and on top of the old stone masonry shotgun building that at one time served as the local firehouse, at others hosting John Wayne in saloon scenes, studio space for renowned Colorado artists.  (For more context, visit https://www.theoldfirehouse.com/)

The developer believed the preexisting site, with its premium location directly across from the cottonwood-lined town park, adjacent the revered True Grit Cafe, but bound on one corner by a CenturyLink "death ray," that this property was severely underutilized.  Sadly, Patrick died before the completion of the redevelopment, but he can rest peacefully knowing that he was totally right.

The redeveloped site now highlights the charm of the original 1880s stone structure as the centerpiece of the lot, if not the entire town, with a supporting cast of new tavern/restaurant, outdoor dining and gathering spaces, an all-glass greenhouse perched on the rear half of the original structure with hydroponic gardens that will service the main level amenities, 3-season covered patio, indoor/outdoor event space, 2nd floor offices, and 3rd floor condominiums with rooftop balconies and expansive views of the snow-capped San Juans.

The structural complexity of the project was very high.  Lousy soils, major displacements in the existing stone walls, space limitations, historic value, high loads, intense winter weather during construction, and sophisticated architectural features were all contributing factors.  

Prominent structural systems included:

• Major underpinning with deep foundations and reinforced concrete grade beams under original stone foundation walls.  

• Comprehensive ground improvement (in lieu of even higher-dollar deep foundations throughout the rest of the property footprint).  

• Wood, structural steel, reinforced masonry, reinforced concrete, you name it!

Several field trips to southwest Colorado at strategic points during construction, supplemented by knowledgeable local building inspectors, facilitated a successful construction process, performed by a highly capable and accomplished general contractor with top notch subs.  

We fortuitously visited the site on the Fourth of July, 2024 and witnessed the iconic red, white & blue laden historic firetruck parked out front, nearly replicating the construction fence rendering less than 20 feet away.

Should we always be so lucky!?

# ja