Urban renewal voluntary effort

A "love fest," is what the passing of the South West Downtown Urban Renewal Plan was deemed by Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace prior to its unanimous vote of approval.

The attitude of the mayor and the rest of the Colorado Springs City Council, as well as business owners in the south west downtown,

Previously council voted against urban renewal at its June 12 meeting, citing condemnation and deeming the area as blighted for rejecting the plan. However, some members of council, business owners and Bruce Wright, an attorney representing the owners, worked out a way in which the plan would become a voluntary plan. In the new plan, businesses can decide if they want to become part of the plan and have the opportunity to sign up as time passes.

After the initial council meeting on urban renewal, business owners like Doug Berwick, co-owner of Berwick Electric, voiced a concern found among most businesses in the area. Berwick said in a previous interview with The Colorado Springs Business Journal that the vision of creating a thriving urban community would not go away. Plans for the area near Cimarron Street, Cascade Street, Interstate 25, Bijou Street and Colorado Avenue is part of the Downtown Action Plan, approved by the Colorado Springs City Council in 1992 and the Downtown Development Strategy, which was approved in 1999. Ideas for the area are similar to the creation of LoDo in Denver, where entertainment and art, affordable housing and businesses thrive after offices close for the day.

Councilman Ted Eastburn shared Berwick's thoughts at the passing of plan at the Aug. 14 meeting and said, "We were not in disagreement. for the ends, just for the means."

The next step toward creating a livelier down town with the plan is at the Urban Renewal Board's meeting scheduled for next month. Jim Rees, the city's urban development project manager, said staff will start drafting request for qualification information for interested developers who are interested in the project.

"It'll be a challenge for the authority," said Rees. "Some developers may want certain parcels and some may overlap in certain areas. It'll be a lengthy process. Some property owners seem interested in being their own developers."

He also said it could be two to three years "before we see anything happen in that area."

The project, which is market driven Could also receive further delay depending on the economy; however, that did not dampen the optimism from the businesses, council and the urban renewal board's "love fest," on the future of downtown and passing a plan that works for all sides.