4/8/2025 |
Bigfoot 99 file photo
In Rawlins, officials are considering repairs for the Ferguson Building and what future it may have in the city.
In 2022, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners gifted the 130-year-old Hugus-Ferguson Building, located on the corner of West Cedar and 5th Streets, in Rawlins, to the city’s Downtown Development Authority.
Requiring millions of dollars of restoration work, the Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, has been trying to find a purpose for the building, now considered derelict.
Speaking at the April 1st Rawlins city council meeting, DDA Executive Director Pam Thayer provided the governing body with an update on the Ferguson Building. Thayer explained that many of the decorative glass blocks installed above the doors and windows of the structure have begun to fall out. Work to replace the glass blocks has been done entirely through donations of money and labor.
Audio PlayerThayer said the Downtown Development Authority Board Of Directors has voted to purchase new glass blocks.
In April of 2023, Rawlins officials submitted four sites to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality for Brownfields consideration: the Pink Motel, a property on Pine Street, the old Strand Theater, and the Ferguson Building.
The Brownfields Program, created by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, provides financial assistance to municipalities dealing with properties that have known or suspected environmental contamination.
As part of this program, the federal government awarded Rawlins $500,000 to assess whether any of these sites are contaminated.
Thayer said the Brownfields study on the Ferguson Building is expected to be completed by the end of April. Approval from the Rawlins city council is required before work on any improvements identified in the Brownfields study can begin.
Audio PlayerThayer explained that Ayers and Associates, the agency overseeing the Brownfields study, explored options for repurposing the Ferguson Building as either a hotel or apartment complex. While Ayers and Associates identified a need for more apartment space in the city, the DDA Director said she pressed for a hotel, stating that it will generate greater tax revenue. The revised study, focusing on a potential hotel in the Ferguson Building, should be completed by the end of April.
Audio PlayerIn the meantime, the Rawlins Downtown Development Authority has been using the front window space of the Ferguson Building for seasonal displays, such as a recent Veteran’s Day exhibit. Beginning this week, the DDA will install a new mural, featuring artistic renditions of local landmarks.
