Investors have plan to save power stations, prevent lawsuit against Pueblo

Investors in Pueblo have a plan to save a historical building and prevent the city from getting sued.

Efforts are underway to have the Power Stations 5 and 6 building in downtown designated a historical landmark.

The building has been there for nearly a century and artist Neema Caughran hopes to see it stand for another 100 years.

“I just feel it is a beautiful building. It is history. We should save those things and not tear them down,” she said.

The City of Pueblo said the investors have a chance to save the building from demolition.

“They have some big plans and some big hopes,” Councilman Bob Schilling said.

The investors want to buy the building from Black Hills Energy, but the company hasn’t heard any recent plans yet.

The investors didn’t want to be revealed because they said they are still working out the final details for the plans on Power Stations 5 and 6. The city did say the investors want to purchase environment insurance to take control of the building, but Black Hills has different plans.

The company said it wants to tear it down, since it is not used anymore and costs about $250,000 per year to maintain. Black Hills said the money comes from ratepayers.

Black Hills’ plan was blocked by the Historical Preservation Commission, which it put in an application to make the building a historical landmark.

That didn’t sit well with Black Hills, and a lawsuit could be in the city’s future, because if the building is declared a landmark, Black Hills is responsible for maintaining it.

“The whole process has been going on for two years now,” Black Hills spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said.

The vote on whether to make the power stations into a historical landmark will happen on May 23.