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Loretto Heights provides affordable housing

Posted on July 12, 2022, by Mary Nelle Gage SL

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Close-up of brick building with ornate letter block over the doorway that reads "Pancratia Hall." — Pancratia Hall on the Loretto Heights campus is now home to affordable housing.
Photo by Regina Drey SL

Photo of a large, four-storey brick building with a center hub and two gabled wings. — Pancratia Hall on the Loretto Heights campus.
Photo by Ruth Routten CoL

Pancratia Hall has been carefully restored and renovated into affordable housing apartments including a number of three and four-bedroom units suitable for families.

Hartman Ely Investments’ announcement of the grand reopening read, “Pancratia Hall, named for Mother Mary Pancratia Bonfils, founder of Loretto Heights Academy, was designed by noted architect Henry W. J. Edbrooke and completed in 1930. The adaptive reuse of the classroom and dormitory building into 74 affordable housing residential lofts will provide a unique opportunity for families to live in a building that celebrates the rich history of Loretto Heights.”

People gather in a refurbished apartment room with a spiral staircase and basketball hoop. — The basketball hoop that once provided recreation to students lends a nostalgic touch to an apartment.
Photo by Ruth Routten CoL

Historic photographs, including a large portrait of Mother Pancratia, hang throughout. Energy-efficient features have been incorporated, such as all-electric heat (fossil fuels will not be burned for heat or water). Free vehicle chargers are available, encouraging the use of electric vehicles.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 12, the feast of St. Pancras, was headlined by remarks from Denver City Mayor Michael Hancock. Present were Loretto Community members, Loretto Heights alumni, as well as neighbors and friends.

A group of women pose for a photo under a portrait of Mother Mary Pancratia Bonfils. — Loretto Community members gather at the reopening beneath a portrait of Mother Pancratia. In front, from left, Reidy Clark CoL, Mary Catherine Rabbitt SL, Lydia Peña SL. Back row from left, Pat McCormick SL, Regina Drey SL, Mary Nelle Gage SL, Mary Helen Sandoval CoL and Magdalena McCloskey CoL.
Photo by Ruth Routten CoL

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Mary Nelle Gage SL

Mary Nelle was raised in Texas and graduated from Loretto Heights College ('66) where she met the Sisters of Loretto. After entering Loretto in 1967, she taught English, speech and drama at St. Mary's Academy and Machebeuf High School. Mary Nelle joined Sister Susan Carol McDonald in Saigon, Vietnam, to care for orphans and to assist with their adoption. For 20 years she resettled refugees for several church agencies. For 30 years she has done customer service at American Airlines and does occasional marketing for EarthLinks. She is involved in the preservation and re-development of the LHC (Loretto Heights College) campus.