Ideas abound over downtown

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 10, 2007 | by SARAH PULLIAM, THE GAZETTE

Although Tejon Street offers a restaurant hub, there are some vacancies that loom over the downtown area.

One hair and nail salon that sits close to Nevada Avenue, for example, is surrounded by mostly vacant buildings.

Although the downtown offers many places to eat or get a drink, some of the restaurant owners would like to see less-specialized retail stores, such as a drugstore.

They have other ideas, too, if city officials get serious about another downtown revitalization project. In recent years, the area has been spruced up with decorative planters, benches, art work, changes to streets and parking and creation of the centerpiece America the Beautiful Park.

Adam Garcia, owner of Wild Wings 'n Things thinks a key to revitalizing downtown is building condos.

"People would love to live downtown if it were affordable," Garcia said. "There's just not a lot of people walking around at night here."

Garcia also would like to see an old idea brought back: move the Sky Sox stadium downtown. That would mean bigger businesses and more tourism, he said.

"Businesses would flourish around here," he said. "There's not enough growth downtown for it to be a great place to have a business."

Richard Panure, who lives just south of downtown, sometimes avoids the area because of the parking problems. Still, he'd like to see more festivities during the summer.

"Denver's always got a party going on," Panure said. "If downtown had more festivals and food fairs like Denver, it would certainly bring up more interest in downtown."

But festivals are not necessarily good for owners. Linda Bridger, who owns a women's accessories store on Tejon, said closing streets hurts local businesses because regular customers avoid downtown.

"In the retail business, one day can make a big difference," Bridger said.

Bridger thinks any kind of revitalizing would give necessary attention to the area. She believes that the city needs to lower taxes for retail stores.

"They could perhaps lower taxes or give us incentives to stay open," she said. "The vacant spots do cause us to worry."