Fuel and Iron Project to renovate historic Holmes Hardware building in Pueblo
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Holmes Hardware building in downtown Pueblo was built in 1915, and for many years it has been a hardware store and warehouse. Soon, it will become a food hall and affordable housing dwelling along Union Avenue and B Street.
The complex is called the Fuel and Iron Project, a nod to Pueblos rich history developing these products. Nathan Stern, the Fuel and Iron Project developer told KRDO what his plans are for the historic space.
"We are really excited to be transforming it into a food hall on the ground floor and 28 workforce housing units geared towards food hall employees on the second and third floor," Stern said.
The food hall will be geared towards up and coming restauranteurs in Pueblo. Stern said popular shops like Solar Roast Coffee and Nicks Dairy Cream are already confirmed to occupy a space inside the food hall.
"We will have six restauranteurs inside the food hall. We will be rolling out the additional business through a series of pop-up events January through May," Stern said.
On the second and third floors of the building will be 28 affordable housing units all priced so the rent is economical. The housing units will be priced at 60% of area median income. From there, the rent prices are benchmarked to 30% of that sixty percent.
"The idea is that you should be paying no more than 30 percent of your income on rent. So every year the rent will be set basically on what the median income is in the county so it will fluctuate over time," Stern said.
Stern said it was important for him to begin this project in Pueblo right along a historic part of the Steel City.
"The first time I stepped foot on this street, I just fell in love with it. I mean the people are number one. I think the people are always number one. I just love the people of this community, but also the architecture and the history and the culture," Stern said.
The project began construction in July 2021, and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2022.
