When a funeral chapel in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood ceased hosting services earlier this year, it was clear redevelopment was looming.
Now an application has been filed with the city to demolish the building to make way for dozens of new townhomes.
The Olinger Moore Howard-Berkeley Park Funeral Chapel has stood at the northeast corner of Tennyson Street and West 46th Avenue since 1960, according to city records. It served around 125 families each year in its day.
Officials with SCI Funeral Services of Colorado announced in January the company would be moving all future services scheduled for Berkeley Park to another location in advance of a sale of the building, nodding to changes in the fast-developing neighborhood, which has become a playground for young people and home base for young families.
The company, a subsidiary of Services Corporation International that owns the Olinger chain of mortuaries in the metro area, hasn’t sold the property yet, officials say. Reached by phone Thursday, market director Matt Whaley said the company is in negotiations with a buyer but nothing has been finalized. Staff members are still working in the building, moving files and tackling other tasks ahead of permanent closure, he said.
Still, on May 30 Denver-based development firm Koelbel & Company filed a demolition application for the chapel. Plans for a townhome project on the 2-acre site were then submitted for city review on May 31.
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In an email this week, Koelbel director of development Scott Chomiak said he could not discuss the project due to a confidentiality agreement. A summary of the concept plans indicates the developer aims to build 58 townhomes spread across seven three-story buildings on the corner lot.
Demolition of the chapel is not a foregone conclusion. The permit is contingent on a series of city staff approvals, the first of which hinges on whether or not planning department officials feel the building has historic value. That historic review period lasts until June 12, according to Alexandra Foster, spokeswoman for Denver Community Planning and Development.
The chapel is not a historic landmark, and while it is near the West 46th Avenue Parkway historic district, it is not part of it.
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It is clear that at least some people in the Berkeley area view the chapel as a significant part of their neighborhood, historic or not. When the demolition application was announced on the Historic Berkeley Regis Facebook page, people took to the comments to advocate for preservation.
“Please don’t demolish! There is so much potential here!” Christie Jenks Schwalbe wrote.
“It can totally be integrated into what is next. It has to be saved as much as possible,” Christie Cline said in her comment. “It’s a gorgeous building.”
Not far from the property, a former El Jebel Shrine building located next to Willis Case Golf Course was converted into condos that opened in 2017.
Berkeley resident Steven Teitelbaum said he thinks the corner — across from a library and near a school — would be a great place for new residences but has reservations. He worries about increased traffic on 46th Avenue and Tennyson Street, both a single lane in each direction. He also has questions about design and how the proposed buildings will fit in the neighborhood. He moved away from West Highland because he felt development had run roughshod over that part of town.
“We would love if Koelbel or the mortuary or whoever is pursuing this would please, on their website, show some type of design or ask the neighborhood for input,” he said.
Updated June 6, 2019 at 5:48 pm: This story has been updated with comments from a representative of the company that owns the chapel and a neighborhood resident.
