Economic Boost For Southern Colorado
By Laurie Ciprianol.cipriano@krdo.com
MANITOU SPRINGS – Thousands of dollars are earmarked to help boost the economies of at least six towns in southern Colorado.
Thursday at the Manitou Springs Heritage Center a $136,268 check was presented to Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI), an organization committed to increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in rural areas. The grant was awarded by U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“This funding will provide DCI with the opportunity to not only expand our current technical assistance and educational programs, but also to reach out to low income, rural communities who otherwise might not be able to access these services,” said Katherine Correll, DCI’s executive director.
“This is a nationally competitive program and the application that Downtown Colorado, Inc. submitted was selected from a pool of 100 applications,” said Dolores Sanchez-Maes, the Director of Community Programs.
Initially, the money will assist the communities of Brush, Granby, Lamar, Lake City, Monte Vista and Rifle.
“It’s incredibly important to have economic growth in these communities because it’s such a difficult time,” said Correll.
“With the Wal-Marts coming into town, most of the small businesses in the downtown area have closed down,” said Sanchez-Maes. “It’s extremely difficult for them to compete.”
Correll believes Colorado’s independent businesses are unique. “The way we look at it is Colorado’s downtowns offer historic buildings,” said Correll. “They offer outside seating experiences. They offer unique items that you can purchase, and what they really offer is an experience. Wal-Mart can’t compete with that.”
Downtown Colorado, Inc.’s Downtown Institute focuses on a comprehensive, community-based management approach to bring Colorado’s downtowns and commercial centers back to economic vitality.
