Annie Levinsky’s title has grow to be synonymous with Denver historic preservation.
Her 14 years of labor as the chief director of Historic Denver Inc. actually formed what number of elements of the town look at present and can look into the longer term.
The 42-year-old Denver native will transfer on from the nonprofit group she’s served for 19 years on the finish of the month and assume the duties of Historical past Colorado’s chief of workers.
“The impression she’s had on preservation on this metropolis will final for generations,” stated Board of Trustees Chair John Lucero on Historic Denver’s web site. “And due to her tireless efforts, Historic Denver is well-equipped to serve its mission for the subsequent 50 years and past.”
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“As our market develops shortly, she’s been an amazing voice mediating points between the (Denver) constructing division, preservationists and builders,” stated Charlie Woolley, founder and president of growth firm St. Charles City Co. “She’s been a terrific voice of cause and an enormous assist to builders, as nicely.
“She’s probably the most wise and well-mannered preservation advocate in our neighborhood.”
Daybreak DiPrince, government director of Historical past Colorado and the State Historic Preservation Officer, stated Levinsky brings expertise and neighborhood connections you’ll be able to’t practice or educate.
“Annie is such an ideal addition to our workforce for thus many causes,” DiPrince stated. “Clearly, she’s a loyal and reliable particular person, which I feel is de facto useful when you’re doing the form of work that we do. … She’s well-respected and has nice neighborhood connections and relationships which are actually necessary to our work.”
Levinsky stated she’s been focused on historical past from a really younger age. She’s an East Excessive Faculty alum and received a liberal arts schooling at Colorado Faculty. She spent the primary yr after school on the Boettcher Basis, uncovered to the nonprofit world early in her profession and regarded for one thing “that had some nexus with historical past.”
Enter Historic Denver, the place she landed an internship. She spent half her time on the Molly Brown Home and half on the group’s headquarters.
“I shortly realized it was a terrific match for me,” she stated. “It’s a mixture of normal historical past and story telling. … It gave me a deep appreciation for the locations that make Denver distinctive.”
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Whereas many imagine historical past is only for finding out and from afar, Levinsky has come to a distinct realization.
“I’ve developed and honed actually a way of how related historical past is to on a regular basis life, studying and inspiration,” she stated. “It’s the range of the town story and determining the way to share it so everybody sees themselves represented.”
It turned apparent through the pandemic simply how necessary our locations are.
“Everybody felt so unmoored with all that was occurring with work, our area people and landmarks solely turned extra necessary in that course of. It made us really feel tethered,” Levinsky stated. “It’s straightforward to suppose ‘that is the more severe it has ever been,’ however historical past helps present we’ve overcome hardships earlier than.”
As through the Nice Recession. That’s when growth stopped within the Metropolis of Denver, and didn’t begin once more till about 2012 when it returned with a vengeance to make up for misplaced time.
“We went from zero to 90 fairly shortly over the course of the final decade,” she stated. “There have been some transformative initiatives that supported plenty of adaptive reuse. … Many noticed the worth of how outdated buildings meet the brand new want of a metropolis.”
She factors to redevelopment initiatives like Union Station, the transformation of the Emily Griffith Alternative faculty into a contemporary lodge, the Nationwide Western Heart, Loretto Heights and others. Levinsky spent 5 years working to get La Alma Lincoln Park into a brand new cultural historic district. It was the primary of its variety for Chicano heritage in Denver.
She’s additionally drawn the ire of the event neighborhood at instances, a few of whom imagine it’s simpler to raze and rebuild.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Carolynne White makes a speciality of difficult actual property initiatives like infill growth, city renewal, and contaminated property.
“Complicated infill, which by definition at all times has current neighbors, virtually at all times has controversy,” White stated. “Most of my interactions with (Levinsky) have been on the alternative sides of the desk.”
In these 12 or so interactions, a number of have been “hostile historic designations” the place space residents can oppose a developer and landowner when it comes razing versus saving a probably historic constructing.
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“I actually admire that undeniable fact that regardless of how contentious it was, regardless of how far down the street we have been, Annie would at all times take a gathering with me and my shoppers to speak about potential decision,” White stated. “I so very a lot appreciated that, as a result of that’s not at all times the case with everybody who’s been on the opposite aspect of the desk.”
“Annie has been actually good about understanding the economics of a state of affairs and attempting to assist builders discover options,” stated Woolley, who’s a former Historic Denver board member. “I’ve by no means seen her get confrontational or argumentative.”
The founding father of St. Charles City Co. has grow to be recognized for his artful adaptive reuse initiatives with landmark buildings and a watch towards inexpensive housing.
Requested about her management model, Levinsky stated she’s labored to be approachable and “at all times be prepared to speak and pay attention respectfully.
“Quite a lot of builders appreciated that and have been glad to see Historic Denver work that approach — persistently,” she stated. “I introduced our values ahead repeatedly. I’m passionate as a result of I like this metropolis, its historical past and its locations. When that comes out, others get impressed and excited too.”
She additionally brings the massive image and “having the lengthy view.”
“Quite a lot of property homeowners have been against the safety from the Decrease Downtown Historic District (handed into legislation in 1988),” she stated. “They don’t anymore.”
As Denver communities are gentrifying and land costs proceed to soar, there’s “some urgency round capturing the tales that honor and acknowledge issues that make Denver a particular neighborhood,” she stated.
“I’d prefer to level out it’s a misnomer that we’re against new growth. We’re not,” she stated. “There are a variety of builders dedicated to that particular mission, the place it stands out. Some folks actually care concerning the story of a spot, or bear in mind it from childhood. (Adaptive reuse) goes to make your mission stand out from yet one more house constructing. We’re seeing plenty of that sameness from each metropolis within the American West.
Levinsky is most pleased with the work Historic Denver did lately to fundraise and make investments $1.2 million into the Molly Brown Home, the place her profession started.
“It’s form of the entry level and conduit for folks to fall in love with Denver structure,” Levinsky stated. “It’s one of the vital necessary and profitable girls’s historical past websites within the nation. I’m actually pleased with that.”
