Colorado Department of Transportation makes moves to sell historic Denver railyard, a potential new site for Broncos stadium

CBS News

2 days ago

Burnham Yard is a historic railyard in Denver that was in operation for over a century. It shut down in 2016 and was purchased by the state in 2021. Now, the Colorado Department of Transportation is making moves to sell the property, which includes tearing down some buildings that some believe should be preserved.
However, several piles of rubble are all that remain of several buildings within the old Burnham Yard following demolition over the weekend.
"To move in for demolition without any engagement at all, especially with the local community, many of whose relatives would have worked on the site, is so disrespectful," said John Deffenbaugh is the president and CEO of Historic Denver.
Deffenbaugh says the organization found those buildings to be of historical significance.
"It tells a really unique and special story at a formulative time of the whole country in the aftermath of World War II."
He tried to convince the state to preserve them, or at minimum come to a compromise.
"Generally, when you work towards a compromise, where you end up isn't necessarily where you started," Deffenbaugh added. "They plowed ahead and reduced them to rubble."
In a statement to CBS Colorado, the Colorado Transportation Investment Office, a division of CDOT said in part, "None of the buildings found to be historically eligible by the State Historic Preservation Office are a part of this cleanup effort, and we are committed to working through the historic eligibility process for those structures."
And while there's no longer an old women's locker room for women hired to replace men who left to serve in WWII, along with other buildings with stories to tell, there is one important building left on site.
"The locomotive shed that CDOT has resolved to keep, and we hope that remains and is integrated into whatever comes next for Burnham Yards."
As far as what will become of the land, the Denver Broncos have reportedly been acquiring properties all around Burnham Yard.
According to team president, Damani Leech, nothing has been decided on all the talks of a new stadium. But will they go on to purchase the old railyard and could this become the site for a new NFL stadium? It's certainly something to keep an eye on.