Bargains for Black Hawk dwellers.

• Author: Titus, Stephen
• Position: Attitude at altitude

IT'S GETTING TOUGH TO FIND A GOOD DEAL ON Colorado real estate these days--unless you live in Black Hawk.

The gambling mecca has set aside $7.7 million dollars in 2003 for renovating fewer than a dozen properties around town--and plans to sell the homes at well below cost when renovations are complete.

Town officials think of the restored homes as "affordable housing," but they also admit the program was conceived to spend gambling taxes the town receives that have to be spent on historic preservation. (See "Who Owns Colorado," page 48.)

In the early '90s, when gaming was legalized in Colorado, the state designated the entire town of Black Hawk as a historic district, which limited what structures could be torn down. To make way for big casinos, however, Black Hawk simply moved to the other side of town several mining shacks that are now considered historic.

So far, the town has spent more than $2 million to renovate 10 buildings located in an area called Mountain City that the city itself rents to merchants for retail and office space.

On housing, Black Hawk has spent another $1.4 million to rebuild seven shacks it has moved to Chase and Marchant streets--about $233,333 each (two buildings were combined because of their poor condition).

Once they are completed, the town plans to sell those rebuilt homes, several of which overlook the town from the northern cliffs, at market rates.

"First opportunity (to buy) will be given to Black Hawk residents and city employees," said Sean McCartney, a planner with the city. But only about 115 people live in town, and most of the 90 city employees are not among them.

The rebuilt homes range in size from 900 square feet to 1,300 square feet, and Terry Robinson, a real-estate broker with Golden Eagle properties, which does business in the area, said the market rate for a house in Black Hawk is about $100 to $150 per square foot.

"For a house, you're looking at about $150,000," Robinson said. "You might find a few small historic Victorians that are cheaper." At his rates, the restored Black Hawk homes would sell for $90,000 to $195,000, but no one with the city would say...