Major renovation of historic McIntosh Building also benefits retail tenants

The McIntosh Building is seen in a current photo. The pedestrian at left is walking past the Gene Brent horse alley. The three shops in the building are (from left, all on the ground floor) Running Wolf Gallery, Dat's Italian and Jen's Place.
Westside Pioneer photo

Major renovation of historic McIntosh Building also benefits retail tenants

Rex Peteet stands in an upstairs office hallway he redesigned/renovated in the McIntosh Building he’s owned since 2015.

Westside Pioneer photo

Rex Peteet recalls visiting the Pikes Peak region as a child. “I fell in love with it,” he said.
       Nowadays, after spending some years in Texas, the design specialist owns the historic McIntosh Building in Old Colorado City's 2500 block and is nearing the end of a major renovation that lasted several months.
       The result is improved accommodations for the three ground-floor retail businesses - Running Wolf Gallery, Dat's Italian Restaurant and Jen's Place - as well as for eight office units upstairs.
       Jen's Place, a gift shop and boutique, is the newcomer to the 10,000-square-foot building, having relocated this spring from the 2600 block where it had started in 2015. Dat's (inside/outside dining) has been in the McIntosh since 2010, Running Wolf (specializing in jewelry) since 2014.
       Peteet estimates that the cost for the upgrades to the 1899 two-story brick edifice will approach $700,000.
       But despite some surprises along the way - not unusual with older buildings - Peteet has no regrets about buying the building two years ago. “It's got good bones,” he summarized.
       He had previously co-owned an even older structure (1833) at Sixth and Red River in Austin, Texas, selling his interest after that part of the city became commercially popular.

Tami Glascock, co-owner of Jen's Place, stands in the front of her recently relocated shop in the McIntosh Building. Note the the original brick walls that were sandblasted and sealed as part of the major renovation by building owner Rex Peteet.

Westside Pioneer photo

Dat's Italian was expanded as part of the McIntosh renovation and is getting a new kitchen and more dining space.
       Overall, the building upgrade “kind of touched everything,” Peteet said, including the roof, floors, walls, gutters, brick walls (sandblasting and sealing them) and even a sagging parapet.
       One design choice was to open up the original 12-foot-high ceilings and expose the interior brick walls. He also went after the floors, removing layer after layer of tiles in one area to reach the loblolly pine - only to find it had been patched so much that he had to put a new wood surface over it.
       A major goal for Peteet with the McIntosh has been to preserve its historic style. Does he like the results? He's kept one of the offices for himself. “I wanted to feel when I walk into my office, that I'm walking into 1901,” Peteet said.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 5/31/17; Business: Changes)

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