{"id":4337,"date":"2026-08-29T12:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4337"},"modified":"2026-08-29T12:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:02:15","slug":"why-some-denver-homeowners-are-renovating-properties-instead-of-scraping-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4337","title":{"rendered":"Why some Denver homeowners are renovating properties instead of scraping them"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On a lot along Corona Street in Denver\u2019s West Wash Park, a 100-year-old brick bungalow is in the middle of a transformation.<\/p>\n

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By the time crews are finished in September, the 1924 brick home at 1211 S. Corona St. will have grown into a 5,100-square-foot house with six bedrooms, two offices, a basement theater room, and a rooftop deck with mountain and Wash Park views.<\/p>\n

What makes the project notable isn\u2019t just its size \u2014 it\u2019s the decision behind it. The homeowners could have torn the house down and built new after they bought the property for just over $1 million in May 2023. Instead, they chose to keep it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been far easier to scrape the lot and start from scratch,\u201d said Matt Plowman, general manager of Able Construction & Remodeling, the Denver firm managing the build for his use.<\/p>\n

But easier, he said, isn\u2019t the same as better \u2014 or cheaper. The project illustrates how \u201cgrandfathered\u201d code rules can save homeowners time and money, along with a piece of history.<\/p>\n

The reason comes down to Denver\u2019s building code, which treats remodels and additions different from new construction.<\/p>\n

Under the city\u2019s rules, an addition or renovation generally only has to bring the new or altered portions of a house up to current code, according to Mikaela Firnhaber, residential plan review supervisor for Denver\u2019s Community Planning and Development.<\/p>\n

The existing structure \u2014 foundation, framing, room dimensions, ceiling heights, setbacks \u2014 is allowed to remain as is, even if it wouldn\u2019t meet today\u2019s standards if built from scratch.<\/p>\n

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A full teardown and rebuild, by contrast, must comply with the current code in its entirety, which covers everything from energy efficiency to stairs, and structural engineering to height limits.<\/p>\n

Plowman has led Able, which does both additions and new construction, since 2018. He said new builds also trigger more than a dozen inspections along the way, from foundation to final energy testing, compared with just a handful for a typical remodel.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenovation versus new construction runs about 15% to 20% less,\u201d Plowman said, pointing to the Corona Street project as an example.<\/p>\n

Retaining the existing foundation and expanding the basement down rather than pouring a new one, he said, was one of the biggest savings. It still allowed for 9.5-foot ceilings, replacing the roughly 7-foot ceiling of the century-old basement.<\/p>\n

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The original front porch on the Corona Street house is staying put. What was once a one-story ranch has been \u201cpopped\u201d into a two-story home, plus the expanded basement.<\/p>\n

Crews also preserved the home\u2019s 100-year-old brick and salvaged matching brick to extend a new wall on the back of the house so the addition blends with the original structure.<\/p>\n

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Engineered trusses let Able remove interior walls from the original house without compromising the structure.<\/p>\n

The new rooftop deck, meanwhile, needed extra structural support to meet snow-load requirements and to accommodate a hot tub \u2014 a reminder that even in a remodel, new additions must still meet current code.<\/p>\n

Similar projects have popped up across Denver.<\/p>\n

Tectonic Design Build of Boulder nearly doubled the size of a 1930s brick Tudor near City Park, connecting the original house with its former stand-alone garage.<\/p>\n

The renovation expanded the home from 2,550 to 5,000 square feet, adding a new kitchen, dining area, primary suite, pool lounge, gym and outdoor pool.<\/p>\n

Classic features like the iron stair railings and arched doorways were preserved. The whitewashed brick fa\u00e7ade and larger windows combine vintage charm with modern design.<\/p>\n

Tectonic CEO Dylan Ochala and design director Kate King sought to honor the home\u2019s history by reusing as much of the existing structure as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenovating is about preserving character and story,\u201d King said, adding that the process is more unpredictable than building new.<\/p>\n

In LoHi,\u00a0architect Steve Lubowicki and the Lawrence Argent\u00a0transformed a 1905 single-family home into a unique duplex at 3645 and 3647 Lipan St.<\/p>\n

Denver\u2019s review timelines are similar regardless of project type \u2014 about two weeks for additions and new construction, Firnhaber said \u2014 while interior remodels that don\u2019t expand a home\u2019s footprint typically move faster, often within two days.<\/p>\n

Even so, she said, the code offers no guarantees against surprises.<\/p>\n

Homeowners often don\u2019t discover certain requirements \u2014 for retaining walls, rooftop decks, window wells, drainage and lot grading \u2014 until they\u2019re deep into permit review, and those items are frequently where unexpected costs creep into custom projects.<\/p>\n

For homeowners weighing a teardown against a renovation, the calculus in Denver increasingly comes down to a simple trade-off: A scrape-and-build offers a blank slate, but a remodel can offer a financial benefit, provided the existing structure has good bones to build on.<\/p>\n

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Denver home renovations can be cheaper than a teardown and rebuild. Denver building codes affect remodeling costs, additions and historic and older homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-news","category-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy some Denver homeowners are renovating properties instead of scraping them - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=4337\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why some Denver homeowners are renovating properties instead of scraping them - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Denver home renovations can be cheaper than a teardown and rebuild. 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