Tejon Street businesses worry revitalization project will cut into warm-weather profits

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - As Tejon Street in Downtown Colorado Springs falls under construction this week through September, the City is looking to revitalize its busiest downtown roadway. Business owners, however, are worried about the impact the work will have on their busiest season of the year.

Phase One of the project began Monday between Pikes Peak Avenue and Colorado Avenue and will last through early July. Phase Two, which starts right after, will move one block farther, to East Kiowa Street.

You can read more about it here.

While business owners have known of the project's arrival for months, as the city has been gathering feedback as far back as one year ago, some believed there was going to be an earlier start during the winter rather than what it presently is.

"I put out a lot of resources that we had, in coupons and things like that in January, and it really hurt us the most I would say," explained Dylan Currier, an owner and bar runner for Colorado Craft, currently located within the Phase One construction.

He says his outdoor patio space, which will be lost to the construction for roughly the next three months, is going to inevitably cost him as well as other restaurants on the block who also have outdoor seats.

"There's a saying, [an] old saying that every every seat in a restaurant is worth $10,000 a year. So if you take the 20 seats I have outside and take three months out of that profit in revenue, we are slated to lose quite a bit of business from that," Currier added.

Meanwhile, Young Yeun, the owner of Coffee and Tea Zone, which has been nestled near the corner of E. Kiowa Street for 25 years, says that his timeline for construction for almost the entire Summer into the fall is even more unfavorable.

"We have a most busy our is it summer time, which is a sometimes 40%, sometimes 30% different sales... so definitely it's going to affect us," Yeun explained on Tuesday.

He and Currier both agree that the project is worthwhile for the future of downtown, which can use whatever leg up that it can get.

"We hope to increase every year, you know, maybe 3% for foot traffic, and so I really do think that will help us get to our goal with that," said Currier

In a statement to KRDO13, the City of Colorado Springs explained why the timeline shifted from what some believed was going to be a winter construction project into the warmer months.

"The City has been working with the local businesses along the project areas on Tejon St. for over a year on the timing and phasing of the project. The construction is designed to ensure businesses access is maintained while construction is ongoing. And we are highlighting the need for residents to support our local businesses during construction and providing parking vouchers. Parking in City garages remains $1 an hour for those visiting downtown."

Currier and Yeun both also explained that the city has been giving businesses free 2-hour parking vouchers for their customers, to help address the lack of parking along Tejon Street for business.