Re: Antnito Depot Renovation

Initial assessment work on the Antonito depot started several years ago with the firm of AE Design Associates from Ft. Collins. This is the same engineering and design firm that started the Como depot and numerous other historic preservation projects in Colorado. My firm worked on a number of projects with them starting in 1992. There is a lot that goes into a historic preservation assessment that ends up being funded by the state historical fund and the presence of hazardous materials such as lead based paint and asbestos is a routine investigation. Remediation solutions are included into the assessment and become part of the requirements for implementation of the work. Asbestos can be found in roofing materials, steam systems and plaster, and I would suspect the asphalt shingle overlay on this building is old enough to contain asbestos but the plaster used pre-dates use of asbestos as a binder and was mostly likely horse hair. And lead paint is a given in these old buildings and may or may not pose a problem, but all of this is well investigated and becomes part of the project. One of the main problems with the Antonito depot was access as the Iowa Pacific, as the owner of the adjacent property through its subsidiary railroad, was refusing permission to use the old platform areas to work on the building. There is a very narrow strip of land that joins the depot to a public road, and the property line is drawn tightly around much of the building. An assessment usually covers the entire structure as interior elements may affect the exterior shell and often projects are divided over several grants. Dick Beardmore, who was the principal at AE Design, typically would focus on the exterior as the first work to be accomplished, then go for a second grant to do interior work. Some of our projects covered up to four grant cycles before a project was complete.