By Jennifer Brown and Tamara Chuang | Colorado Sun
One of the coolest endeavors to open in Pueblo in recent years is tangled up in a court battle after being accused of not paying its builders for the full cost of the project.
Fuel & Iron, the historic hardware store transformed into affordable housing and a trendy food hall where visitors can find cocktails and beer, pizza and fried chicken, opened in April. It was sued in May, its contractor claiming it was shorted more than $2.4 million.
The dispute is a black eye on a project heralded as the perfect mix of private investment and public dollars, a $16 million plan cobbled together from 17 sources, including grants and local, state and federal government investments.