Homeowner preserves right to demolish Denver home
One of Denver’s most posh neighborhoods has been split by plans to demolish a home and an effort to save it — using a landmark preservation ordinance — that City Councilman Charlie Brown describes as “real estate terrorism.”
The conflict began this summer when Gary Yourtz paid $1.1 million for a house in the Belcaro neighborhood and pulled a demolition permit, planning to build his dream house at 825 S. Adams St.
His plans were stalled when a preservationist and a neighbor used a provision of a city law enacted four years ago to file an eleventh-hour landmark designation application for the home.
The house is scheduled to be razed Jan. 15, but Yourtz says it cost him $18,000 to preserve that right —
Owner Gary Yourtz spent $18,000 in the legal fight.
