Loveland's Ward Building reconstruction progressing

Office building, devastated by fire in July, should be ready for tenants this summer

Terri Ward stands outside the newly reconstructed Ward Building on Wednesday, talking about how she is happy that the heart out front survived a huge fire last July. The heart was installed there in honor of Ward Construction's 50th anniversary, which was in 2012. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

LOVELAND -- As Ward family members watched their office building burn into the night last July 9, they were thinking one thing: "total loss."

In the weeks that followed the catastrophic fire that brought scores of firefighters from all over the region, they learned that the Ward Building might be salvageable after all.

Now, eight months later, the two-story brick structure looks like what it almost is: a brand-new building.

"It's all coming together nicely," said Dave Ward, one of the four owners of the building at 2114 N. Lincoln Ave. in central Loveland.

The blaze destroyed the roof and heavily damaged other parts of the 10,779-square-foot building. And the thousands of gallons of water that firefighters poured onto the structure caused a different kind of damage.

Firefighters pour water onto flames roaring from the roof of the Ward Building at 2114 N. Lincoln Ave. the night of July 9, 2013. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. (Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Ward said the owners' decision to rebuild rather than level the structure allowed them to use two-thirds to three-fourths of the original building, which was constructed in the early 1980s.

"It was the right decision to make," he said.

See the article here:
Loveland's Ward Building reconstruction progressing