• Published on Tuesday, 07 November 2006 03:55

Woodland Park’s Downtown Development Authority has chosen the five local developers who will revamp the 10.5 acres south of highway 24, turning it into a collection of shops, restaurants, and offices. Those developers will be announced in a 7:30 meeting at City Hall on November 21. All this happens as existing business owners complain of high property taxes, with many of them closing shop and moving on. (via The Gazette)

November 07, 2006

Woodland Park picks 5 developers
Plan is for downtown project to attract more visitors

By DEEDEE CORRELL THE GAZETTE

Seven months after Woodland Park leaders downsized their original plans for a downtown redevelopment project, they are making progress on the “mountain village” of shops, restaurants and offices they hope will attract more visitors.

The city’s Downtown Development Authority has selected five local developers to revamp 10.5 acres of city-owned land south of U.S. Highway 24.

“These folks have the financial wherewithal to carry out the plans they’ve proposed,” said Tom Carrick, president of the authority.

A list of the developers will be announced at a 7:30 a.m. Nov. 21 meeting at City Hall, 220 W. South Ave.

In 2003, voters in the downtown district passed a $30 million bond referendum to help reshape the downtown — a project deemed important because of the fear that a planned highway bypass eventually could devastate local businesses.

Property owners in the district pay an assessment to fund the project.

Last year, the downtown authority selected a developer to redevelop 21 acres into a Breckenridge-style village. When the developer lost his financial backers, the authority cut ties with him and started over. They’ve spent the past several months accepting proposals from potential developers and have selected five.

They’re also considering a proposal to build a hotel on the site but are awaiting the results of a $13,000 study the authority commissioned to gauge whether a hotel would be feasible. The results of that study should be available next month.

The plan calls for the developers to own the land and the buildings, while the city will own some public improvements, such as the streets, as well as the plaza and pavilion.

The project originally was expected to cost up to $65 million, with bonds paying for $12 million to $15 million and the developer paying for the rest. The price tag now is uncertain, but city officials said it should cost much less than $65 million.

Some business owners say the authority seems more interested in the project than in aiding existing businesses.

“You’d think they’d look at doing tax incentives to help existing businesses,” said Diana Hazlett, owner of the Woodland Auto Valet, a car wash and detail and gift shop.

She said the business isn’t producing the revenue she’d hoped, and she’s put it up for sale.

Many other downtown businesses also are for sale, which some owners attribute at least in part to a sharp increase in property taxes.

That happened because their value doubled in the 2005 assessments, which Assessor Al Jordan said were based on sales prices that had doubled.

He suspects those higher sales prices were because of speculation about the redevelopment project.

Carrick agrees. “I believe some of the properties were sold and purchased on that speculation,” he said.

Like Hazlett, downtown business owner Carlos Macis said he’s worried about existing businesses and wants to know whether city officials are as well.

“Are they concerned at all about us? Do they have a plan for Main Street?” said Macis, who owns the Martini Hut.

Carrick and city manager Mark Fitzgerald said they are worried — that’s why they’re focusing on a project they believe will help the entire downtown.

“We mean to strengthen the whole business environment so existing businesses can get a stronger foothold,” Fitzgerald said.

PROJECT DETAILS

The project originally was expected to cost up to $65 million, with bonds paying for $12 million to $15 million and the developer paying for the rest. The price tag now is uncertain, but city officials said it should cost much less than $65 million.

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