A deal to buy and preserve the former Colorado Heights University campus fell through this spring, but other companies have expressed interest in buying the 70-acre parcel and safeguarding its historic character.
Catellus Development Corporation last year said it wanted to buy the campus, which was first developed in 1891 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto Heights Academy, a Catholic elementary and secondary school for girls. The campus’ main structure — a red-hued administration building with a tower — can be seen for miles around the south Denver metro area and is fiercely defended by neighbors who want to keep it from being erased or marred by over-development.
Also important is the campus cemetery, where 62 nuns are buried. Neighbors don’t want to see those plots disturbed. Catellus expressed willingness to preserve the campus’ historic properties.
But the California-based company failed to reach an agreement with the campus’ owner, the Japan-based Teikyo University Group, which rejected Catellus’ final financial offer. Teikyo announced the school’s closure in November 2016, due in part to declining enrollment. About 500 students were enrolled.
Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn announced that the Catellus deal had fallen apart in May in a newsletter emailed to the area’s residents.
Jim Gibson, who is heading up efforts to protect the campus, 3001 S. Federal Blvd., said he was not impressed with Catellus’ preliminary plans for the parcel.
“I thought they were pretty cookie-cutter,” Gibson said. Plans included single-family homes and apartments along South Federal Boulevard, as well as a charter school operator using the administration building. “(Catellus) pitched it as a proposal that would respect the tradition and history of the site but in those preliminary plans, we just didn’t see it,” Gibson said.
In community meetings, neighbors said they wanted to see restaurants, an art museum, a communal gathering place, affordable housing, a park, a theater and artist lofts.
Catellus has said it is still interested in the campus, but representatives of Catellus couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
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Flynn, who has been closely monitoring the status of the campus, said that Fred Van Liew, president of the former Colorado Heights University, and his real estate consultant have turned to the next three companies who had submitted bids when Catellus was chosen.
Flynn said he did not know the identities of those companies. But, he said, the college will be in a position to announce a buyer in the coming weeks.
The new developer also will be committed to preserving the highly visible Frank Edbrooke Loretto Academy building and adjoining chapel. Keeping both intact is a requirement of any sale, Flynn said. The cemetery also will be preserved.
In 1948, Loretto Heights phased out its elementary and secondary programs and became Loretto Heights College, a four-year school for women. Colorado Heights University opened in 2009 and specialized in international business and English courses.
