CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL HAS A NEW OWNER — AND A PATH FORWARD

Update: July 2026

After years of vacancy, vandalism, and uncertainty, Cathedral High School has a new owner — and a real plan to bring it back to life. As of June 30, 2026, the property at 1840 Grant Street has changed hands, and for the first time in nearly a decade, there is a funded, preservation-minded plan to restore it.

Local developer Brian Toerber, of Inspire Investment Group, purchased the 20,000-square-foot building and has announced plans to convert it into a boutique hotel and restaurant, with an eye toward weddings, events, and experiential travel. Toerber recently completed a similar adaptive-reuse project at the historic All Inn Hotel on Colfax Avenue — a midcentury motor hotel originally built in 1959 as The Fountain Inn, back when Colfax was the height of American road travel. Longtime Denverites may remember its later chapter a bit differently: from 2005 to 2012, the same building was home to the notoriously rowdy Rock Bar. Toerber estimates the Cathedral High renovation could cost up to $30 million, with a hotel opening targeted for 2029. Plans are also underway to list the building on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Historic Denver welcomes this outcome. For years, we emphasized that Cathedral High is the most significant asset in any redevelopment of this site, and that it must be protected. We remain committed to advocating for the adaptive reuse solution now underway, and to ensuring the building’s survival for future generations.

“Older buildings give us a connection to the past. They anchor us and they ground us,” said Historic Denver President & CEO John Deffenbaugh. “We’re so appreciative that the building has changed hands, and now there’s a path forward to a sensitive adaptive reuse project.”

A STORIED HISTORY

Originally built as Cathedral High School in 1921 by architect Harry J. Manning, the property played a major role in Denver’s Catholic education system and later became a compassionate haven known as Seton House, serving those affected by the AIDS crisis, youth in need, and local artists. Its architecture — including a four-story bell tower and a cloistered courtyard — is as rare as its multi-layered social history.

In 2011, a proposed demolition triggered a swift response from Historic Denver, Capitol Hill United Neighbors (CHUN), and Colorado Preservation, Inc. (CPI). Their advocacy helped save the site and set the stage for a preservation-minded sale. GFI Capital Resources Group acquired the property in 2017 and announced rehabilitation plans in 2021, but visible progress never followed, and the building continued to deteriorate.

FROM PROMISE TO DERELICTION — TO A PATH FORWARD

Despite early investment, the buildings sat shuttered, vacant, and in visible decline for years. The City officially designated 1840 Grant Street a neglected and derelict property in June 2025. Like many buildings on the NADB list, it became a magnet for complaints, 311 and 911 calls, and neighborhood blight, and in August 2025 an administrative judge fined the owner $139,500, with escalating daily fines for continued noncompliance.

Behind the scenes, Historic Denver organized meetings with the Denver Police Department and the City’s Neglected and Derelict Buildings team to press the previous owner to secure the property, while also working to support a sale by coordinating with public agencies including the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, the Downtown Development Authority, and the Mayor’s Office. As deterioration continued, the City moved to appoint a receiver for the property in March 2026, citing the site’s continued decline and public safety hazard. That sustained pressure, paired with more than two years of negotiations between the previous owner and Inspire Investment Group, led to the sale: on June 30, 2026, the property changed hands, ending the receivership question and opening the door to restoration at last.

“Historic Denver has been a key partner in helping us reach this point, along with the city, public agencies, and several mission-based lenders,” said Brian Toerber of Inspire Investment Group. “Our immediate priority is to secure the property, and we are working with a private security company to prevent trespassing and further damage.”

“Historic Denver has championed this building for more than 15 years,” Deffenbaugh said. “Preservation work often happens behind the scenes and takes time. We are thrilled these efforts paid off and that the building is now in the hands of an owner with the vision and local track record to move it forward.”

WHY IT MATTERS

Cathedral High is more than just another building on a problem list. It represents decades of community service and architectural beauty, and its long, difficult path to a stable future underscores:

• The fragility of preservation victories when enforcement mechanisms are weak.
• The value of sustained public pressure in holding owners accountable to good-faith development agreements.
• The urgent need for policy tools that prevent deterioration before it’s too late.

Cathedral High’s story shows that even when rehabilitation projects stall for years, sustained advocacy, city enforcement, and community pressure can still produce a real, funded path forward. “This building represents so many diverse facets of history,” Deffenbaugh said. “And, in retaining it for future generations, it’s going to tell those generations the story of what came before them and all the diverse uses that this building once accommodated.”

Read Historic Denver’s full press release here.

IN THE PRESS

GET INVOLVED

Historic Denver has protected places like Cathedral High School for more than 50 years — help us ensure it remains a place of dignity, openness, and civic meaning for the next generation. Your support fuels Historic Denver’s daily work to advocate for the places that shape our identity.

Become a Supporter today to help us protect the Civic Center and other treasured historic spaces.

Updated July 2026