City Council approves $2.1 million facelift for DeTurk Round Barn

<p>After 119 years Santa Rosa's DeTurk Round Barn is about to get a much-needed facelift.</p><p>The City Council Tuesday awarded a $2.1 million contract to GCCI Inc. of Santa Rosa to renovate the interior of the former livery stable by adding an elevator, staircases, restrooms, a catering station, a new foundation and ground and second floors to the two-story building. Work is expected to take a year.</p><p>The building, built by Isaak DeTurk in 1891 to house his prized trotter, was sold to the city in 1910. The city used the Donahue Street property north of Railroad Square as its corporation yard and the round barn as a storage facility until abandoning it in 1983 so the property could be cleaned up of toxic problems. The barn has stood vacant ever since.</p><p>It got a fresh coat of paint and new roof in 1999 but its original interior, including dirt floors and remnants of horse stalls, remain.</p><p>The city plans to convert the building into a community center that can be rented out for art shows, weddings and community events.</p><p>The renovation will be funded by a combination of state grants and park development fees.</p>