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Craig weighs Golden Cavvy building options, but no plans for purchase

The historic Golden Cavvy building sits vacant at 538 Yampa Avenue. (Joshua Carney / Craig Press)

Though the vacant Golden Cavvy building at 538 Yampa Ave. remains up for sale, the city of Craig will not pursue acquiring the property at this time.

Following a tour of the building — which has sat vacant since 2013 – in late April, city manager Peter Brixius and city Economic Development Coordinator Shannon Scott said that the city’s primary focus does not include purchasing the property.

“We were able to do a walkthrough a few weeks ago, and the purpose of that was to gauge what type of structural standing it was in, to see if it was suitable for redevelopment,” Scott said. “For the most part, it’s structurally sound; the majority of the issues are cosmetic.”



“We wanted to really understand what the condition of the facility was and understand what its opportunity for redevelopment is,” Brixius added.

With the walkthrough complete, the city is eyeing potential redevelopment of the property, whether that be through a new owner or the current owner.



In mid-April, the Guess family confirmed they were open to selling the building after years of neglect. The Golden Cavvy previously had its assets seized in August 2013 by the Colorado Department of Revenue in order to collect unpaid business taxes. Prior to the seizure of assets in 2013, the Golden Cavvy and former Baker House were in business from 1903 to 2013.

Since August 2013, the historic building has remained vacant and has occasionally seen use as an unsafe and unsecured squatting area for the homeless, which led to calls for the city to intervene as far back as 2018.

According to Brixius, the Golden Cavvy building sits inside the Urban Renewal Authority plan area, which could help incentivize future development once the URA is complete.

“We’re getting a better idea of what the possibilities are with that property,” Brixius said. “That property resides in the core downtown area, so it’s a big part of the perception people have of our downtown retail section. We want to make sure we’re doing everything possible to ensure that downtown is attractive, appealing and inviting to tourists and residents alike.”

One way the city can ensure that downtown remains appealing for tourists and residents is through the use of the recently received Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields funding through the agency’s Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Grant programs.

The city of Craig was recently awarded a $300,000 grant from the EPA to help advance the cleanup and revitalization of property at priority sites downtown.

“It’s one of the locations that we want to help a developer or the owner characterize any material hazardous waste that may exist in the structure,” Brixius said. “The Brownfields grant could be used to do that.”

“The Golden Cavvy building was one of the few properties located in town that we specifically applied for that grant for,” Scott added. “Funding from that grant will be able to go towards that property, regardless of if the city or a developer privately purchases it.”

Though the EPA Brownfields grant is in place, and the building falls inside the URA plan area, there is no developer lined up at this time. The next step in the process will depend on how quickly someone can come in and purchase the property and begin redeveloping, according to Scott.

Managing Editor Joshua Carney can be reached at 970-875-1790 or jcarney@craigdailypress.com.


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