No timetable to demolish old power plant in Pueblo

Black Hills Energy doesn’t know if, or when, Power Stations 5 and 6 will be torn down.

If the former power plant is demolished, utility customers may end up paying more for the demolition costs.

“We would anticipate there’s likely to be additional costs associated with the demolition of the facility,” said Bret Jones, senior program manager for external affairs.

Back in December, the utility company told city administrators that delaying the demolition would add another $500,000 to an estimated $3.5 million demolition cost. KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked if that estimate is still accurate.

“We’re not sure what that amount might be,” Jones said. “We just suspect because of the contract timeframes that we already have in place that if we seek to extend the contract or move into a later time period that would require something like remobilization of our contractor, that there’s likely to be additional costs.”

The city isn’t allowing Black Hills to get a demolition permit for the property, which sits near the Pueblo Riverwalk. Council unanimously voted in December not to issue permits for buildings larger than 15,000 square feet. The building in question is over 18,000 square feet. That temporary moratorium expires at the end of June.

“We wanted to satisfy what we thought were legitimate efforts at trying to figure out a way if that building could be reused,” said Council President Steve Nawrocki about the moratorium.

For now, Black Hills is in a wait-and-see mode. The city is accepting requests from interested developers.

Over the past week, several prospective developers have toured the building. But if no one comes forward, the building will be demolished. As for an exact time, Black Hills doesn’t know when demolition would begin.

The deadline to submit a request for proposal is March 6. The city has not yet received any proposals.