Town of Crested Butte BOZAR Projects of the Year

By Jessie Earley, Building Department  ]

(Editor’s note: We normally run the BOZAR Projects of the Year awards closer to when they come out…but we didn’t. With the newest awards being announced later this month we thought we better hurry up and get these in the paper…sorry for the delay)

The Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) held their annual Year End Review in January 2023 to consider the projects completed in 2022. Members of BOZAR and town staff reviewed a presentation of projects in the following categories: New Residential, Accessory Buildings, Accessory Dwellings, Residential Remodels, Commercial Remodels and New Commercial. BOZAR considers the effective application of the design guidelines, the massing, site design, overall architecture and exterior materials in their consideration of all of the projects.  BOZAR selected the most outstanding projects for 2022, honoring one project with the prestigious Project of the Year Award. Three other projects were awarded honorable mentions.  

The Project of the Year for a rehabilitation and addition to the historic building in 2022 was awarded to Michael Higuera and Mimi Mather for the rehabilitation, addition and historic preservation work of the 1890 residential building located at 221 Whiterock Avenue. The award was given to Ben White for drafting plans to help the building better tell the story of its additions and preserving its integrity and character, Mimi and Michael for the hard work done, commitment to the project and preservation of the building and Billy Laird of Mountain Home Building CB, and all the subcontractors for the respectful craftsmanship. The Board appreciated the scale of the new addition. The Board also noted that in telling the story of additions, they appreciated that some of the uniqueness of the home was kept in the front enclosure and deck and transitioning from magenta to purple.

According to the 1998 Historic Building Survey, the one-and-a-quarter story residence was constructed circa 1890. It was known as the Krizmanich Residence. The house, although altered, represents the vernacular wood construction popular for residential dwellings in town with its gabled roof, overhanging eaves, double-hung sash windows and unadorned exterior. The front porch was enclosed, deck and French doors added, window changes and skylight are noted as newer adaptations; the building is listed as contributing to the National Historic District.

The Project of the Year Honorable Mention for a rehabilitation and addition to a historic residential building in 2022 was awarded to Andi and Chris Goodnough for their home at 210 Gothic Avenue, Bill Racek, architect, for his careful attention to the plans and for the respectful addition and Andi and Chris, Billy Laird of Mountain Home Building CB, and all the subcontractors for the work done and for commitment to the project. The Board appreciated the scale of the new addition in comparison to the historic building. The Board thought the use of materials and colors also worked well for the addition as a distinction between the old building and new. The property is listed as a contributing to the National Historic District according to the historic building inventory record. The north, one-and-a-half story section of the residence was constructed in 1890 and the accessory building was moved to the site pre-1951. This home has a steeply pitched side gable roof and intersecting rear gable with overhanging eaves and metal roofing. This house, although altered, reflects dwelling construction of the late nineteenth century in Crested Butte through its intersecting roof gables with overhanging eaves, frame construction, tall double-hung sash windows and simple un-ornamental exterior. 

The Project of the Year Honorable Mention for a rehabilitation and addition to a historic accessory building in 2022 was awarded to Salle McDaniel and Kyle Anderson for the accessory located at 506 ½ Fifth Street, Jeff Derruseau for drafting the plans for such a respectful addition, Kyle and Salle and all the subcontractors for the work done and for commitment to the project. The Board appreciated the scale of the new addition in comparison to the historic building. The Board thought that the addition was successful and very sensitive to the existing historic structure. The building was constructed in 1917 around the same time as the residence. Its simple rectangular footprint, gable roof and simple frame construction is representative of the variety of out buildings constructed during the mining era.   

The Project of the Year Honorable Mention for an addition to a commercial building in 2022 was awarded to Elk Avenue Partners LLC, Bill Lacy and Daniel Dow for the work done at 330 Elk Avenue, Gary Hartman of Sunlit Architecture, for drafting plans in a successful way to capture the history of the building through presentation of photographs for context, Bill and Daniel and all the subcontractors for the work done and for commitment to the project. The Board appreciated the scale of the new addition and better addressing Elk Avenue than the previous entry. The Board also noted that this is a handsome building and an anchor for this corner, as it served before in the past as described below. The footprint of the building was originally the Crested Butte House, an upscale three-story hotel and restaurant which was constructed circa 1883. The second and third stories were destroyed by fire in 1927, and the first floor was salvaged. The one-story west module remained intact and is the only historic remnant. The building is not classified as historic. The structure served as Town shops until the 1970s. It was renovated into a restaurant called the Way Station, and later Donita’s Cantina.

This, as with each year, is a community effort and the BOZAR and Building Department staff wish to thank the property owners together with the Building and Design Community for another successful year of construction in Crested Butte. The architectural uniqueness of Town owes a great deal to your hard work. Special thanks to the architects, designers and contractors for their hard work in 2022!