The Jaffa Opera House Foundation is receiving nearly $1.9 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help clean up asbestos at the historic building.
It's the first step in renovating the building into ground-floor shops and artist studios, estimated at a total of $13 million.
The 142-year-old opera house once stood as a storefront but has remained vacant for the last 20 years.
The funding is among the $11.6 million in Brownfield Grants awarded throughout Colorado.
“Cleaning up contaminated properties reduces the environmental and health risks for the community and opens the door for new economic development,” said U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper in a statement. “This funding will help us safely clean up these sites and recharge the surrounding communities.”
Four southeastern Colorado communities are receiving funding:
- Jaffa Opera House Foundation - $1,897,300
- City of Cañon City - $1,533,000
- City of Fountain - $1,924,580
- City of Lamar - $764,838
- Las Animas County Earns $1.1 Million In EPA Grants To Scrub Toxins From Trinidad’s Fox West Theatre And Other Historic Buildings
- Developers are eyeing historic Pueblo buildings now that they know what contamination they have to deal with
- The historic Fox Theatre in Walsenburg needs a half million dollar facelift and roof repair
