Local Communities Get Official Designation
Rick Langenberg
Two key visitor/tourist hubs in Teller County — Cripple Creek and Woodland Park – have received a much-appreciated post-Christmas present in the form of an official Main Street designation, a move that could help accelerate downtown revitalization activity in both towns, according to local and state officials.
In the process, they will join a list of 27 other cities and town, as part of the Colorado Main Street Program, which offers support for “community-led downtown revitalization and helps towns thrive by providing a customizable framework to focus efforts, energy, and resources to create a more vibrant community.”
The recent designation was announced last week by officials of the state Department of Local Affairs, which oversees the Colorado Main Street program. Besides Cripple Creek and Woodland Park, state officials announced that the towns of Fort Morgan and Kiowa have joined the new Main Street list.
Cripple Creek and Woodland Park leaders are ecstatic over the news, as for the last year both communities have made big inroads in their pursuit of Main Street gold, such as forming a board and holding regular meetings and compiling possible action plans and hiring and designating Main Street coordinators.
Oddly enough, neither Cripple Creek nor Woodland Park are new to the Main Street process, with the latest designation marking the “City Above the Clouds” second official Main Street bid. Woodland previously had a Main Street program in place but had difficulty sustaining it by relying heavily on volunteers. According to sources, some friction also previously existed between the city administration and a former Main Street coordinator.
Cripple Creek, meanwhile, considered the Main Street effort in the late 1990s, but never took any official action. This occurred following much controversy over plans for a proposed multi-million-dollar Williamsburg-like mining attraction bid outside of town that never came to fruition.
Times have changed, though, politically in both communities. Plus, the state’s Main Street Program has gotten much more ambitious in targeting new candidates and has changed its emphasis from earlier years, when the program was more focused strictly on historic preservation.
Cripple Creek Mayor Annie Durham, in a previous interview, expressed much optimism about the town receiving this designation. But officials conceded it wasn’t finalized until last week.
The mayor sees the program helping the town in its downtown revitalization plans, such as rehabbing Pocket Park, next to city hall, viewed as a great venue for events and a local gathering spot; and showcasing the historic attributes of many of their downtown buildings with more defined signage. She cites a number of big positives for Cripple Creek under Main Street and noted that the program got a positive response by local business operators.
City leaders are hopeful that the designation could help facilitate more grants for downtown improvement projects. At its Jan. 7 meeting, several leaders inquired whether the town could use its Main Street effort to fund a historic stairway on Bennett Avenue to facilitate a better pedestrian walkway across the main street.
According to a state Department of Local Affairs press release, the city plans to “host the Main Street program and envisions a lively mountain town where history and modern energy come together with a walkable downtown, filled with restored buildings, inviting gathering spaces and your-round experiences that inspire pride in the locals and captivates its visitors.”
It still hasn’t been determined if both Cripple Creek and Woodland Park can work together jointly on Main Street ventures. Both communities have aggressively spearheaded the Main Street planning process with more defined strategic plans. The formation of actual Main Street advisory boards emerged as key developments in both towns,
The recent news comes in the wake of other bold development initiatives. One of Woodland Park’s prized anchor developments, Woodland Station, will round first base this spring with the projected opening of the Tava House, a multi-use project, featuring an event center, a premiere steak house-restaurant, a tap room and culinary school. More importantly, it should pump life into a prime area that sat vacant for decades.
Cripple Creek is moving forward with efforts to become a home rule city, an idea frowned upon in earlier post-gaming years. It also is progressing with pursuits to emerge as a destination/tourist area and to provide much more than just gaming. One of its big challenges deals with combating deteriorating, vacant buildings in the main commercial core, which were previously used as casinos
The Colorado Main Street Program also recognized efforts in other parts of the state. In their press release, state officials touted Fort Morgan, located on the Eastern Plains section of the state.
In the state’s press release, the Colorado Main Street Program is described as a “framework for helping communities with the challenges they face in their downtowns. The Colorado Main Street Program assists all of the official Main Street cities and towns in building community engagement and support to attain their long-term visions for the future of their downtowns.”
To learn more about the Colorado Main Street Program, visit dlg.colorado.gov/main-street.
