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Watch VideoCity of Colorado Springs plans to revitalize shopping
Story By: Rachel Hoffenberg
Source: KOAA
The city of Colorado Springs is focusing on ways to revitalize shopping with the retail enhancement program. It’s something they've never done before, but are trying to bring more energy and activity to three particular areas of the city.
Elena Nunez, the Economic Development Manger for the city, says the hope is they'll attract more restaurants and stores to make shopping in Colorado Springs a different experience for consumers. "Our retail sales from restaurants and grocery stores and department stores, is critical for revenue for Colorado Springs."
Nunez says hard evidence, like January’s sharp dip in sales tax figures and the continued vacancies we see in Colorado Springs, is prompting them to take action.
As part of the retail enhancement program, Nunez says city is hiring two analysts. They’ll gather data about what kind of retail could stimulate three particular areas; downtown, South Academy Boulevard, and North Nevada Avenue. "We've identified that we don't want them to further deteriorate."
The city will look at ideas, like adding additional and alternative entertainment venues to downtown. They’ll also try to attract large retailers as anchor stores on North Nevada and SouthAcademy to in turn attract smaller businesses to those areas.
Nunez says, "We still see shoppers leaving Colorado Springs to go to Denver. And we want to bring back those shoppers into Colorado Springs by providing them additional choices for restaurants and stores." She adds, the new Costco is a perfect example and we may see more moves like this in the future.
The city says they also plan to involve the community to find out what shoppers want to make shopping more viable and appealing in Colorado Springs. The program was approved by the Colorado Springs City Council last fall. Their new hires should arrive by early April and begin conducting surveys and gathering data. We could see programs being implemented to make repairs and improvements later this year.
