University of Colorado at Colorado Spring receives grant for

The State Historical Fund, a program of the Colorado Historical Society, will provide a more than $90,000 grant to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to develop a master plan and historic structure assessment for the Heller Center for the Arts and Humanities.

As part of the agreement, the State Historical Fund will assign a historic preservation specialist to work with the university to assess the historical value of the building and to create a master plan for the Heller site. Specialists in areas such as landscape architecture will be consulted to ensure appropriate expertise is brought to the project.

The structures on the site -- a gallery, a guest house and a main house -- were built by the Hellers using a wide variety of local materials during a span of more than 60 years. Some of the structures are in poor condition, although classes meet regularly in a building previously used as a gallery.

The goal is for the Heller Center to meet academic and community needs in a setting that preserves an important part of Colorado Springs history, Christensen said.

The Colorado Springs-based Bee Vradenberg Foundation also contributed $3,000 to assist the university in meeting a matching requirement in the State Historical Fund grant.

Dorothy Heller died in 1999, leaving the property west of campus, as well as five buildings and her late husband Larry's artwork, to the university. The Hellers requested the site be used to celebrate the humanities, accommodating retreats, workshops, exhibits and visiting artists.

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