DENVER -- With all the cranes around town and apartments popping up left and right, you might think that older buildings don't stand a chance against new construction. In Denver's Cap Hill neighborhood, they actually do.
Denver7 found two separate housing projects that are keeping the former structure's historical facade, while building new apartments or condos inside.
The Ogden Flats is saving the 90-year-old brick exterior walls of the old 'Penn Garage.'
"That's what gives this the character that it does that you don't get to see with regular ground up construction," managing partner Chris Lonigro said.
The Jux Apartments just a few blocks away are doing something similar with the facade of an old automotive garage on Corona Street.
"It's like a shell and everything inside is new," one construction worker told Denver7.
But shoehorning 29 condos or 32 apartments inside nearly 100-year-old walls isn't easy.
"It's not a blank sheet of paper. You're starting with something and you have to get creative with how you make all those pieces work together," Lonigro said.
Both buildings are scheduled to open within the next few months, hoping that their extra work to maintain a little bit of history goes a long way with the people that will live there soon.
But it's not just apartment and condos -- offices are getting this makeover, too.
A firm in Denver, Tres Birds, is converting old facades into modern office buildings. You can check out their work here.
