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There is a mover and shaker in town, Perry Sanders. He has purchased, just recently, The Antlers Hotel, The Famous Steak House, South Side Johnny's and various other properties along the Tejon/Nevada strip. He also owns the Mining Exchange. He has plans for a 30+ story mixed use building with construction to begin before the year ends. He is big on downtown and is a man who gets things done. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few years.
Colorado Springs has always been a city of dreamers so I don't hold my breath.
Urban pioneers come and go in Colorado Springs. Here one year and gone the next.
I do look forward to reading about this gentlemen's dreams though.
Colorado is the 42nd largest city in America and yet the hallmark of the downtown is Uncle Wilbur which is a small fountain that is turned in the summer.
This is a city with more people then Miami, Minneapolis and Atlanta and yet the downtown's attraction is a little, blue fountain that spits water onto the pavement.
I remember when Cara DeGette, which is Diana DeGette's sister was the main person at the Independent and she was a huge cheer leader and dreamer for Colorado Springs.
She had her moment of reckoning and left the paper and I believe she left the city.
Usually with Colorado Springs projects fail, the only successful project has been the South Delivery Project which means high-water rates but reliable water supply.
I know the city and council and mayor in the 1990s went on about trying to become a "world-class city"
What happened after 2000 was that Colorado Springs went on to lose tremendous amounts of employment in information and manufacturing.
Downtown Colorado Springs in the 1990s had many, many long time institutions downtown that had been open for decades. Chinook Bookstore, Michell's, Lorig's among others.
Colorado Springs now has a combination of chain retail and places that are here one day and gone the next.
It is after all nicknamed "Sprawlerado Springs"
I was downtown late in the evening a few weeks ago on a Friday. They have a few clubs but they had maybe a dozen or so people each. They seem to have spent a tremendous amount of money on remodels to have such a small client base.
It would be very interesting to see profit-margins of the few night clubs and retail stores in downtown Colorado Springs compared to other cities.
Colorado Springs is a city of scenic sprawl. The city is beholden to single-family home developers who like to buy huge tracks off land and building new large, single-family homes.
Colorado Springs specialty is in one thing and that is building McMansions on the plains for rock-bottom prices.
Last edited by lovecrowds; 06-27-2016 at 06:59 PM..
Colorado is the 42nd largest city in America and yet the hallmark of the downtown is Uncle Wilbur which is a small fountain that is turned in the summer.
This is a city with more people then Miami, Minneapolis and Atlanta and yet the downtown's attraction is a little, blue fountain that spits water onto the pavement.
Interesting perspective that is sadly out of alignment with reality. Last I saw, the city has been holding its self up as Olympic City and the AFA has long been an international destination for visitors. No where in its wiki article, visitcos site, or the city's site itself do I see mention of this fountain as a hallmark.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds
I remember when Cara DeGette, which is Diana DeGette's sister was the main person at the Independent and she was a huge cheer leader and dreamer for Colorado Springs.
She had her moment of reckoning and left the paper and I believe she left the city.
Relevance please? Sanders has resources at his disposal the DeGette sister could only dream of. He also seem to be much more deliberate with his methods than a Frank Aries and starts projects actually grounded in reality that aren't dependent upon having council in his pocket. Sounds like smart business decision making instead of chasing dreams.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds
Usually with Colorado Springs projects fail, the only successful project has been the South Delivery Project which means high-water rates but reliable water supply.
Ah yes. Like the failed expansion at UCCS. Or maybe the failed revitalization of north Nevada. I think the Lowell district revitalization may have failed and they forgot to tell everyone so they could move out. Then again, maybe you are referring to the Powers Blvd expansion that is slated to be torn out because no one uses it. Perhaps the Memorial and Penrose expansion are the point of reference here. ??
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds
I know the city and council and mayor in the 1990s went on about trying to become a "world-class city"
What happened after 2000 was that Colorado Springs went on to lose tremendous amounts of employment in information and manufacturing.
Yep. So lets move on with the challenges of this century. Maybe "world class" is a bit overrated anyway. Since then, the population has continued to rise in spite of our lack of "world class". I guess you would say there are a lot of classless people here. Oh wait, you already did. Dirty stroller, welfare moms of multiples is what I think you said. The change in these employment figures in Cos mirrored the same issues occurring nationally in that period. Cos was not exempt from those forces that were developed and occurring on a national and Federal policy level, so if we are out of touch because of that, well then, so was a large percentage of the rest of the nation as well as the developed world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds
Downtown Colorado Springs in the 1990s had many, many long time institutions downtown that had been open for decades. Chinook Bookstore, Michell's, Lorig's among others.
Colorado Springs now has a combination of chain retail and places that are here one day and gone the next.
There are still some very long time institutions downtown and all around. Just because two of your favorites are gone, doesn't mean they have all left. Jose Muldoons, Poor Richards complex, Shewmakers and more are all still here. Downtown Cos is home to more locally owned business' than anywhere else in the city.
Also, why are retails and chain outfits bad? They create continuity that helps newcomers acclimate to the area faster a well as providing choice in products and pricing. I do seem to recall that because of our cross section of population, a large number of chains would use us as a test market for products and plans. Sounds like we are much more diverse than some would imagine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds
It is after all nicknamed "Sprawlerado Springs"
I was downtown late in the evening a few weeks ago on a Friday. They have a few clubs but they had maybe a dozen or so people each. They seem to have spent a tremendous amount of money on remodels to have such a small client base.
It would be very interesting to see profit-margins of the few night clubs and retail stores in downtown Colorado Springs compared to other cities.
Sprawlerado huh? You make that one up because I haven't heard it here before. Since we are the only population center in the western US to have this issue, perhaps we should invent a way to deal with it, then package it should anyone else happen into a similar problem.
I guess you can't find a half decade old government report to read up on club profitablity, huh. Bummer. Obviously they are making enough to justify their remodels, provide services, and exist in spite of your opinion of them. Then again, maybe you are looking at such out of the mainstream, off the beaten path places to begin with. No clue here.
I actually have no idea what your hang up is with it all. Maybe your just bitter that your childhood neighborhood has turned into the barios. Maybe, to quote the Pretenders, you returned from college to find "My City Was Gone" on the south east side that you like to malign so much now. I'm sorry to hear that. Yup, its all changed.
I think the bottom line is, this city doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up.
You have to have residents and leaders with the foresight, commitment and the resources to say, "get it done!". That's one thing I know about Sanders having worked with him in the past. Once he sets his sights on accomplishing something, nothing will stop him. Only time will tell.
I think the bottom line is, this city doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up.
You have to have residents and leaders with the foresight, commitment and the resources to say, "get it done!". That's one thing I know about Sanders having worked with him in the past. Once he sets his sights on accomplishing something, nothing will stop him. Only time will tell.
Does it or is it simply adaptable to the times without a clearly defined persona? Cos is not too offensive, nor is it too progressive. Its pretty enough but not gorgeous. It survives, grows, and evolves but does not thrive. Perhaps we suffer too much from "girl next door" syndrome instead of being a supermodel, but is that a really big deal?
In its time, Cos has been a refined locale from a wild frontier, a playground of the rich, a convalescent hub, the home for a fledgling air force, a military hub, a manufacturing center, call center central, Olympic home, and on the horizon, cyber security. TO me, that looks a lot like adapt, persevere, overcome.
We do lack residents and leaders with the foresight, commitment, and resources to push us into great territory. Possibly. A byproduct of the area is that it tends to bred fiscal conservation. There are any number of people, like Sanders, who could push things forward, but they tend not too. Smart money, hedging their bets, or stiffled by local government? I'm not sure. Perhaps it is because they made their coin in the '90s and are sitting by watching the world go round. Perhaps it is a byproduct of our $6500 annual city council pay philosophy, which is IMO, a problem similar to our lack of willingness to raise taxes. Perhaps, someday we can get past these things and really become a greater place.
Does it or is it simply adaptable to the times without a clearly defined persona? Cos is not too offensive, nor is it too progressive. Its pretty enough but not gorgeous. It survives, grows, and evolves but does not thrive. Perhaps we suffer too much from "girl next door" syndrome instead of being a supermodel, but is that a really big deal?
In its time, Cos has been a refined locale from a wild frontier, a playground of the rich, a convalescent hub, the home for a fledgling air force, a military hub, a manufacturing center, call center central, Olympic home, and on the horizon, cyber security. TO me, that looks a lot like adapt, persevere, overcome.
We do lack residents and leaders with the foresight, commitment, and resources to push us into great territory. Possibly. A byproduct of the area is that it tends to bred fiscal conservation. There are any number of people, like Sanders, who could push things forward, but they tend not too. Smart money, hedging their bets, or stiffled by local government? I'm not sure. Perhaps it is because they made their coin in the '90s and are sitting by watching the world go round. Perhaps it is a byproduct of our $6500 annual city council pay philosophy, which is IMO, a problem similar to our lack of willingness to raise taxes. Perhaps, someday we can get past these things and really become a greater place.
That was an interesting read.
Colorado Springs used to be the "Girl Next Door" city when it was better off but now it is trying to be a Supermodel city.
The Colorado Springs of the 1990s was so much better then what they have now.
The people moving here in the 1990s were mainly here for employment purposes.
The people moving to Colorado Springs today are retirees which is a perfect match for the community but also people moving here for lifestyle purposes and an influx of poor people.
Denver's poverty rates are plunging while the rate has gone up.
This time 20 years ago they were in the midst of a huge economic boom here and it is was a very salt-of-the earth, interesting place.
Now, its trying to a supermodel city with residents who have one of the highest household debt to income ratio's nationally.
I think it is interesting the debt to income ratio's of Colorado Springs metro compared to other metro areas of similar per-capita income like Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
It will be very interesting in Colorado Springs when there is a downward business cycle.
Colorado Springs tends to take longer to fall into recession but it always takes this city years and years to recovery compared to others.
Went from 152,000 jobs to 246,000 in the 1990s
Went from 260,000 jobs in 2006 to 279,000 jobs in 2016.
Lots of population growth, but very little job growth.
Colorado Springs sure has transitioned from one little niche to another. But one niche doesn't sustain a metropolitan area of 700,000 people.
Colorado Springs just punches way beneath it's weight for such a large city. Everything about this place is small potatoes compared what other similar sized cities have.
Perfect city for retirees, pensioners and the few thousand people working for defense contractors.
UCCS is small, small potatoes compared to what other metropolitan areas this size have. There are about 11,000 students who go there, thats very small.
Only 2% of Colorado Springs population goes to UCCS. Compared to over 30% in Boulder and 15% in Fort Collins.
Even Pueblo has 5% of its population going to CSU-Pueblo, compared to just 2% of Colorado Springs population going to UCCS.
I doubt there is a city of it's size that is less of a college town then Colorado Springs.
I have lived in many cities with massive state flagship universities. UCCS is so small that you only know it is there driving up Austin Bluffs.
The city of champions is nothing more then a marketing line. They are so desperate to market this place, it is comical what they come up with.
Steve Bach and John Suther's city of champions marketing gimmick is like Mary Lou Makepeace world-class city marketing gimmick.
Having lived in so many college cities, the little 40 million dollar sports medicine building is small potatoes, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to many universities.
The USOC with it's 200 million dollar budget per year is no match for Omaha which is in a similar population class that has Berkshire Hathaway with 200 billion in yearly revenue.
Also, the cyber-security firms here tend to live off federal contracts. I wonder what happens to company when they don't get another round of welfare funding.
Last edited by lovecrowds; 06-28-2016 at 01:59 PM..
Colorado Springs should stay a small town. It should not turn into another LA, Houston, or New York City.
To late for that we must march forward. Colorado Springs has a destiny for greatness I can feel it.
Last edited by BornintheSprings; 06-28-2016 at 02:24 PM..
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