For more than two decades the Centennial building located at 176 Main St. has stood vacant. In 2004, a flood damaged the lower level of the building. In 2007, the city condemned the building for safety issues.
Now local builder Pete Olson and his company PJ Builders are preparing to bring the historic structure back to life. With extensive experience in historic renovations, Olson has been connected to the project for years, waiting for the right buyer to step in. The buyer is Michael Bradbury, who purchased the building three years ago.
“Most recently, a gentleman came along that was very serious about making it happen and preserving the house,” Olson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” last week [Oct 1]. “And that was exciting. He's done some other projects. He did a big historic property renovation in Texas and just has a passion for preserving historic buildings. So, it was a natural partnership.”
Park City’s strict Historic District guidelines prohibit the demolition of the building, so Olson will take the building apart piece by piece. All of the salvageable siding will be used to reconstruct a home using the same footprint as the existing structure – about 5,000 square feet. Olson says they will first build a foundation.
“We're going to remove all the siding, and all the exterior finishes off of the building,” he said. “But because of the condition of it, it's not considered safe to be working inside there, and it's loaded with mold and a bunch of other stuff. So, we are going to tear it down and then replicate it.”
Once the building is taken down, he says the project will proceed much like new construction with all new plumbing and electrical systems and a garage.
“We just feel like it's a great way to preserve the history and connect the old with the new and we're really looking forward to seeing that old girl put back into service, right, and occupied by humans again.”
The finished house will include six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Olson estimates construction will take about 18 months. A construction mitigation plan will be required to address the challenges of building in Old Town, including traffic and limited access.
Originally known as the Durkin Boarding House, the building served as housing for miners during Park City’s silver boom, later housing ski bums. Although the Centennial’s signature sign was not part of the original construction, Olson says it is still historic and will be restored and reinstalled on the building once the renovation is complete.
