The Coffman House is a rooming house located at 303 Coffman St. It was once a location riddled with crime but has been turned into a sanctuary for those looking for an affordable place to live.
What is now referred to as The Coffman House once belonged to William Henry Dickens Jr. He moved to Burlington, CO when he was only 17 with plans to participate in the Gold Rush with his step-father. He later built a log cabin just south of Longmont and stayed in the area until he died in 1915.
Dickens built The Coffman House as his personal home where he lived with his wife, Ida Kiteley, and their five children. On Nov. 30, 1915, Dickens was reading in his home library when he was shot in the back, killing him.
Around 1930, the city of Longmont bought the home and turned it into a hospital. Later the roof caught fire to the two-story building and a third-story was added during its reconstruction.
Around 1960, the house became a rooming house and has been some version of that since, said Stan Fellows, building manager.
In recent history, as far back as at least 2013, the house has been known for the crime that happened there.
“It fell into poor management,” Fellows said. “It was infamous. The police were here four to five times a week for ‘big league’ stuff.”
Fellows said some of the crime found the house because there were no exterior locks on the doors. Because of the easy access, those experiencing homelessness would walk in to sleep on the floors of the halls, drug trading happened inside and there was little upkeep to the building which caused it to be rundown.
According to the Longmont Police Department, in 2013 the police were called to the address 119 times. The rate decreased in 2014 to 73 times but increased to 102 times in 2015. In 2016 the numbers dropped again to 75 visits but jumped again in 2017 to 85 visits.
Officer David Kennedy of the Longmont Police Department remembers being called to the property. He said that The Coffman House had significant crime and didn’t feel safe. He described the property as being in shambles.
Some of the calls Kennedy remembers responding to included drugs, repeat behaviors and major crime events, he said.
Six years ago the home was purchased by Page Pulver and the crime rate saw a dramatic decline. In 2018, police made only 40 visits to the home and since then the number of visits has dramatically decreased to nine visits so far in 2023, all of which have been welfare check, Fellows said.
“There is certainly a different feel there now,” Kennedy said.
Pulver saw the human side of the residents of the home but knew that not everyone was a fit for the rooming house that has many shared walls and shared bathrooms and living spaces.
Pulver asked all residents to observe some simple rules, pay rent, keep all spaces clean and not disturb other tenants. If renters could follow the rules, there were allowed to stay, if not she worked with families and local agencies to find other housing, Pulver said. Asking people to leave was not a reflection on them but a slow progression to create a culture within the house that promoted community and safety.
Today the house offers individual rooms and acts as an affordable alternative to housing in the area with rooms going for around $600 a month.
Fellows said it also offers a sense of community among residents who all work together to care for the front garden and shared spaces. That community also allows the building’s management to work with its residents during hard times and to know they have someone to lean on, Fellows said.
