A multi-million dollar civil lawsuit focused on pay disputes surrounding the extensive remodel of the Holmes Hardware building that houses the Fuel & Iron Food Hall in downtown Pueblo could be headed to trial next May if parties don’t settle the case before then.
White Construction Group of Englewood, which oversaw the remodeling project, filed a civil lawsuit against the Fuel & Iron commercial and residential corporations in May 2023. The general contractor’s attorneys filed a $2.38 million mechanic’s lien on the property after Fuel & Iron allegedly refused to extend the contract time or increase general conditions costs, according to the lawsuit.
“Fuel and Iron continued to make changes to the project design, ordering White Construction Group to completechanges. However, Fuel and Iron refused to compensate White Construction Group for additional general conditions costs related to such changes or to extend the contract time to account for such changes,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims the lien entitles White Construction Group to sell the Holmes Hardware property at 400 S. Union Ave., so the sale proceeds can be applied to “pay White Construction Group amounts owed plus interest, costs and attorney fees.” The lawsuit also claims the White Construction Group lien is superior to all other interests on the property.
The complicated lawsuit has since expanded to include a countersuit, intervenors and cross-claimants and now involves the city of Pueblo and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, both of which provided funding for the project. The lawsuit also involves subcontractors, banks and insurance companies.
During a case management conference in Pueblo District Court Friday, Judge Taylor Thomas set a 10-day jury trial to start May 6, 2025. She also set a pretrial readiness conference for April 7, 2025.
White Construction Group Attorney David Frommell told the judge he expects to file a motion to vacate the request for a jury trial and proceed with a trial to the court because a jury is not required for a lien/foreclosure case.
Background on the Holmes Hardware project
The remodel of the long-vacant 1915 Holmes Hardware building was expected to cost about $15 million as Denver-based commercial real estate developers Nathan Stern and Zach Cytryn oversaw the transformation of the former hardware store into a ground-floor, five-restaurant Fuel & Iron Food Hall, and workforce housing apartments on the second and third floors of the building.
The developers had hoped for a summer 2022 opening, but the construction schedule was pushed back and the food hall didn’t open until April 2023. The food hall continues to operate with five restaurants, a bakery, a coffee shop and a bar.
In December, Gov. Jared Polis Gov. Jared Polis traveled to Pueblo to present Stern and Cytryn with a 2024 Stephen H. Hart Award, which recognizes historic preservation efforts.
More: Pueblo’s Fuel & Iron honored by Polis with Colorado historic preservation award
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why a construction company is suing the owners of Pueblo’s Fuel & Iron
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