Less then a year ago, empty nesters, Bruce and Kimberly Decker began to entertain ideas of downsizing. At the time they were living in Parker in a home that seemed too big for them now that their son had gone off to college.
“At first, we went to look at houses in the Highlands area in Denver. We wanted to live somewhere where we could easily walk to the store and other amenities,” said Kim. But after looking at the prices for condos and homes in the neighborhood, they quickly realized that they could get more for their money if they looked in other parts of the metro area.
One evening, on a whim, Kim and her husband did a search for places back in Douglas County. Bruce continued to browse on the ipad after Kim fell asleep. Trying to contain his excitement, he come across an interesting property in Castle Rock. Nudging her awake, he said, “You gotta see this!”
That’s when they became intrigued by the newly listed property known as the Hammar House, one of the earliest homes in Castle Rock. And though they had decided they were not in the position to buy because of money being tied up in their Parker home, the following day, their curiosity took them them to have a closer look.
When they arrived, the daughter of the then owner happened to be out in the yard. From their conversation with her, Bruce and Kim quickly were told that there had been other offers and that if they were interested, they would need to talk with the real estate agent handling the sale.
However, after a few minutes of charming the daughter, they were invited into the house. “That afternoon we ended up making her an offer,” Kim remembers, “We then followed up with writing her and the family a long letter about wanting to restore the house to its former glory and that it was important to us to protect its historical value.”
Shortly after, their actions helped them become the new owners of the Castle Rock Historical Landmark. “We bought the Hammar House in August of 2014 and moved into the house in January of this year,” she recalls.
And holding true to their plans for preserving the home, last Wednesday, Kim and her architect met with the Castle Rock Historical Preservation Board to have them approve schematics and renderings of renovations to the Hammar House. They presented plans to add a detached garage, restore and repair the windows and expand the home on the south side.
The Decker’s renovations were approved by the board and initial improvements have already begun. The windows are in the process of being repaired and painted – according to the original design – and construction of the the addition and the garage are scheduled to begin in June. They intend to use materials and colors that will compliment the ryholite structure and preserve the integrity of the landmark.
Interested in learning more about the Benjamin Hammar House? Watch this video:
