Johnson’s Station, a historic Northern Colorado adaptive reuse project designed by Longmont-based F9 Productions, has received an Honorable Mention in the 2026 AIA Colorado Design Award for Historic Preservation and Restoration.
The project was one of just 17 projects recognized statewide in the 2026 AIA Colorado Design Awards and was honored in the Historic Preservation and Restoration category for projects between 5,000 and 15,000 square feet.
Located in Prospect New Town in Longmont, Johnson’s Station was originally constructed as a roadside gas station and became a familiar Northern Colorado landmark before eventually being relocated and adapted for a new generation of community use.
“This one means a lot to us because it comes from our architectural peers here in Colorado,” said Alex Gore, AIA, co-founder and principal architect of F9 Productions and architect of record for Johnson’s Station. “We believed from the beginning that this building was worth saving. The challenge was figuring out how to respect what people remembered about it while creating something useful and relevant for the community today.”
The adaptive reuse retains several connections to the property’s past. Its neon sign was restored, vintage gas pumps were repurposed as electric vehicle chargers, and the site of a former swimming pool was transformed into a public plaza and outdoor dining area. Today, the property serves the surrounding Prospect New Town neighborhood as a place to eat, drink, gather, and connect.
Alex Gresh, AIA, served as Design Architect for Johnson’s Station.
“This project was about understanding what made the original building worth remembering,” Gresh said. “We wanted the new architecture to feel like an evolution of that story rather than something that erased it.”
The AIA Colorado honor is the third major design recognition for Johnson’s Station. The project received an Honorable Mention from the 2025 Architecture MasterPrize for Architectural Design/Restoration & Renovation and a Silver Award from the 2026 International Architecture & Design Awards for Renovation, Restoration & Adaptive Reuse.
The project reflects a growing emphasis in F9 Productions’ work on adaptive reuse and reinvestment in existing buildings. Founded in Longmont in 2009, F9 Productions provides architecture, construction, and development services throughout Colorado.
