Funeral home in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood could be demolished to make way for 58 townhomes

When a funeral chapel in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood ceased hosting services earlier this year, it was clear redevelopment was looming.

Now an application has been filed with the city to demolish the building to make way for dozens of new townhomes.

The Olinger Moore Howard-Berkeley Park Funeral Chapel has stood at the northeast corner of Tennyson Street and West 46th Avenue since 1960, according to city records. It served around 125 families each year in its day.

Officials with Dignity Memorial announced in January the company would be moving all future services scheduled for Berkeley Park to another location in advance of a sale of the building, nodding to changes in the fast-developing neighborhood, which has become a playground for young people and home base for young families.

It’s unclear whether Dignity has sold the property at this point. City records show no recorded sales of the building, but list its owner as Howard Mortuaries & Cemeteries Corp. in Houston. Regardless, on Thursday, Denver-based development firm Koelbel & Company filed a demolition application for the chapel.

RELATED: Where is Denver residential development happening?

Plans for a townhome project on the 2-acre site were then submitted for city review on Friday.

Reached via email, Koelbel director of development Scott Chomiak said he could not discuss the project due to a confidentiality agreement. A summary of the concept plans indicates the developer aims to build 58 townhomes spread across seven three-story buildings on the corner lot.

Demolition of the chapel is not a foregone conclusion. The permit is contingent on a series of city staff approvals, the first of which hinges on whether or not planning department officials feel the building has historic value. That historic review period lasts until June 12, according to Alexandra Foster, spokeswoman for Denver Community Planning and Development.

The chapel is not a historic landmark, and while it is near the West 46th Avenue Parkway historic district, it is not part of it.

It is clear that at least some people in the Berkeley area view the chapel as a significant part of their neighborhood, historic or not. When the demolition application was announced on the Historic Berkeley Regis Facebook page, people took to the comments to advocate for preservation.

“Please don’t demolish! There is so much potential here!” Christie Jenks Schwalbe wrote.

“It can totally be integrated into what is next. It has to be saved as much as possible,” Christie Cline said in her comment. “It’s a gorgeous building.”

Not far from the property, a former El Jebel Shrine building located next to Willis Case Golf Course was converted into condos that opened in 2017.