By David Futey
The sounds of music and display of art will no longer be respectively heard and seen in the building that has housed the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts (TLCA) on Highway 105 in Palmer Lake since 1999. The TLCA Board of Directors decided to sell the property after the Certificate of Occupancy (CoO) could not be resolved and related renovation costs.
The renovations and an indefinite closure time frame in which to perform them were required to correct fire and other code violations identified by the Palmer Lake Fire Department and to bring the building up to present-day building code standards. The renovations were required to modify the CoO designation. The final musical performance was by David Arkenstone on Dec. 7, 2024.
The discrepancy between the CoO and the building’s use was brought to light when the TLCA rented the space to a church for Sunday services. The CoO, assigned by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, was never changed by the original board when the art center began operation in 1999 or by the contractor that performed renovations at that time. The CoO designates the building for light manufacturing.
Built in 1947, the building was placed for sale by the TLCA board in 2024. With an original asking price of $1.45 million, the 9,419-square-foot building sold on Jan. 17, 2025 after being available for nine months. According to the El Paso County Assessor’s Office, the sale price was $760,000 with a present total market value, land and improvement, presently at $341,796. It was purchased by GAK Real Estate Holdings LLC.
The building’s location was originally the site of the Thomas A. Hanks Livery Stable and Transfer Service in 1898. Before the TLCA, the building had housed a variety of businesses, with the building split north and south for a period of time to accommodate separate businesses. These included an Angora rabbit wool processing plant, a Denver Rio Grande Railroad train car repair facility, retail space for an alpaca fur dealer, location of the Colorado Worm Growers, and for nearly two decades a Kaiser-Frazer parts distributor and restoration shop. A fiber-optic business will now occupy the building.
A monetary gift from Roger and Kim Ward enabled the TLCA to purchase the building in July 1998 at a sale price of $258,000 according to the Assessor’s Office and perform renovations to convert it into the art center. This enabled the art center to operate rent free. Since then, the TLCA hosted community and special events, art exhibits by the Palmer Lake Art Group and other artist groups and individuals, plays, and concerts by local, national, and international musicians in the building. The musicians who performed there include Chuck Pyle, Dakota Blonde, John Adams, Hazel Miller, Peter Yarrow, Judy Collins, Michael Martin Murphey, Branford Marsalis, Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters, Pam Tillis, Eric Elison, and Phil Keaggy.
The TLCA was issued a 501(c)3 designation in January 1999. The TLCA, as a nonprofit arts entity, will continue operating and promoting fine arts. TLCA Executive Director Michael Maddox in a Feb. 12 press release regarding the TLCA and building sale stated that the TLCA “will work with other established arts organizations and acclaimed performing artists in other venues, no longer being restricted to a 170-seat venue,” along with not having to perform a capital campaign or seek other financial resources to cover the cost of the building renovation to bring it up to code and subsequent operating expenses once it was completed. Maddox has been the TLCA executive director since transitioning from interim executive director in 2010. The release also included a note from Roger Ward to the TLCA board supporting the sale given the CoO and renovation cost circumstances.
Information on the TLCA’s Articles of Incorporation, modifications to it, and annual reports can be found in the Business Database Search on the Colorado Secretary of State website (www.coloradosos.gov/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do).
Note: Futey covered events and concerts at the TLCA from 2008-24 for OCN. He was a TLCA board member from October 2009 through January 2022. David Futey can be contacted at davidfutey@ocn.me.