Gazette: Data Collected on Downtown Better Block Experiment

Published in The Gazette | September 24, 2012 | Written by Rich Laden

A 24-hour experiment to gauge the public’s reaction to traffic and parking restrictions on Pikes Peak Avenue is over, and proponents now will assemble data they’ve collected to present to downtown advocacy groups and perhaps the Colorado Springs City Council.

Better Block Pikes Peak, a volunteer effort coordinated with city government officials, took place from noon Friday to noon Saturday last week along Pikes Peak Avenue, between Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street downtown. Traffic was reduced to one lane in each direction, while parking spaces along a median were blocked off to cars. 

The goal was to see how pedestrians and motorists responded to the temporary restrictions and possibly use that information as part of urban and traffic planning efforts around the city.

Supporters felt the effort was a success, mainly because they received a lot of input from members of the public — both positive and negative, said John Olson, a coordinator of the Better Block effort and managing partner of EVstudio Planning in Colorado Springs.

“It’s all good information,” Olson said of the comments they received. “It’s data that we need and it’s one experiment so that we can learn from it, and hopefully as a city, it’s helpful.”

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/experiment-145032-block-hour.html#ixzz27n7WOFWR

CSBJ: Disaster Loan Presentation for Waldo Fire Victims Set for September 28 in Colo Spgs

Published by the Colorado Springs Business Journal | September 20 2012 | Written by Monica Mendoza

Representatives from offices of Sen. Mark Udall, Sen. Michael Bennet and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be in the Springs this month to discuss disaster loans.

The representatives will be in Colorado Springs from 11 a.m. to noon Sept. 28 at the Colorado Springs Together office, 6840 Centennial Blvd.

Business owners, nonprofit organizations and residents affected by this year’s wildfires and related flooding in El Paso, Larimer and 15 adjacent counties are invited to learn more about SBA Disaster Loans, including requirements and eligibility.

The deadline to apply for loans for physical damage is Oct. 9. Homeowners and business owners have until May 7, 2013, to apply for SBA assistance for economic damage. The Colorado Springs Small Business Development Center also will participate in the presentation.

The event is free but there is limited seating. RSVP to Angela_Joslyn@markudall.senate.gov or call 471-3993 for more information.

Read this article on CSBJ: http://csbj.com/2012/09/20/disaster-loan-presentation-sept-28/comment-page-1/#comment-69498

The Gazette.com: For Your Convenience: 7-Eleven Adding Stores

Published by The Gazette | September 16, 2012 | Written by Rich Laden

It might seem as if there’s a convenience store on every street corner in the Pikes Peak region. 7-Eleven dominates the market with dozens of stores, while Loaf ‘N Jug and Circle K are among chains with multiple stores.

Even so, more locations are on the way as convenience store chains see continued opportunities for expansion in high-growth areas of the region, and as time-strapped consumers continue to clamor for the quick, in-and-out service that convenience stores offer:

•  Dallas-based 7-Eleven, which has roughly 50 area stores, says three to four more are planned this year and another five to six are coming in 2013. Among the new sites: A former Bennigan’s restaurant near Academy Boulevard and North Carefree Circle will be razed to make way for a store, while another location is targeted on Woodmen Road, west of Marksheffel Road. 

•  Loaf ‘N Jug, an arm of the Kroger grocery chain that owns Kings Soopers, has about 20 stores. Another store is planned southeast of Northgate Boulevard and Voyager Parkway on the Springs’ far north side. 

• Circle K, based in suburban Phoenix and with about 20 locations in the area, plans a store on the city’s northeast side, at Tutt Boulevard and North Carefree. 

• Midwest-based Kum & Go has aggressively entered Colorado Springs with plans to build 20 to 25 stores over five years. Its first location opened in May at Academy and Vickers Drive. Stores are under construction east of Interstate 25 and InterQuest Parkway, west of Powers Boulevard and Woodmen Road and at Powers and North Carefree, among other locations. 

• San Antonio-based Valero, which operates corner stores under the Valero and Diamond Shamrock names, has about 30 area locations. A spokesman said the company plans no additional stores in the area, but occasionally looks to remodel and expand existing locations. 

“They sell time,” Jeff Lenard, a National Association of Convenience Stores spokesman in suburban Washington, D.C., said of the popularity of the stores. “When they started back in the 1920s, they sold staple items like milk and bread and eggs after the groceries closed at 5. Over time, what they have sold has changed, but they (continue) to sell time. It’s get them in, get them out, get them on their way, and do it without a hassle.

Read the rest of the article on The Gazette: http://www.gazette.com/articles/stores-144657-adding-convenience.html#ixzz26rNmJ7bq

Gazette: Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Memorial Lease

Published by The Gazette | Written by Andrew Wineke | August 29, 2012

Ricardo Munoz of RMS Sign Co. puts a new banner bearing the University of Colorado Health logo over an existing Memorial Hospital sign Tuesday night, August 28, 2012 after it was announced that Colorado Springs voters had voted Tuesday to lease the city-owned hospital to University of Colorado Health. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette 

Colorado Springs voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a plan to lease city-owned Memorial Health System to University of Colorado Health.

The proposal passed, 83 percent to 17 percent. About 41 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the mail election.

The lease agreement will pay the city $74 million up front and $5.6 million annually, which the city plans to put into a new foundation dedicated to local health needs. UC Health will also pay $3 million a year toward establishing a medical school at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Mayor Steve Bach called the result a “mandate” for the decision to lease the hospital.

“We are at the doorstep now of a wonderful future,” said Mayor Steve Bach.  “I’m so proud to be standing here today and so thankful.”

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/health-143849-colorado-city.html#ixzz24x0b5cfv

CSBJ: Lower Rents Changing Downtown Tenant Mix

Published in Colorado Springs Business Journal | August 10, 2012 | Written by Amanda Miller 

When Kati Brewer started looking for a downtown storefront for her Pure Nutrition shop earlier this year, she was blown away by the affordability off Tejon Street.

She’s paying $900 a month for her location at 22 E. Bijou St.

“That’s really good for a retail spot,” Brewer said.

And the landlord gave her the first two months free so she could decorate the space and get it ready without rent expenses before opening to customers.

Rents and concessions such as those are common these days, especially downtown, says Mark Useman, a broker with Sierra Commercial Real Estate.

“I think downtown is going through a transition right now,” Useman said.

Lower rents and front-end deals for tenants have invited different retailers into the fold.

Where high-dollar stores like Lulu used to sell $200 jeans, Cottonwood Art Studios sells locally produced pieces. Nearby, at 230 N. Tejon St., Halo Boutique has replaced Ellie K.’s higher-priced women’s clothing with trendy business casual pieces priced between $15 and $60. The Candy Bar, a 1950s style candy shop, has taken the place of longtime luxury retailer Johannes Hunter Jewelers, which moved to University Village Colorado on North Nevada Avenue.

Asking rent downtown is the lowest it has been since 2004, according to Sierra’s records. And the lower rents are changing the makeup of the downtown retail scene, which experts say is not necessarily a bad thing.

Read More: http://csbj.com/2012/08/10/lower-rents-changing-downtown-tenant-mix/

Gazette: Colorado Springs Company Bounces Back, Doubles Staff in One Year

Published in The Gazette | August 16, 2012 | Written by Wayne Heilman

Image by Christian Murdock of The Gazette 

Shawnee Huckstep, CEO of TechWise, is pictured in her downtown Colorado Springs office on Wednesday. The local company has won $26 million in training program development contracts and contract renewals with the Air Force, Army and the United Arab Emirates during the past year.

It’s been a good year for TechWise.

The Colorado Springs-based company has won $26 million in training program development contracts and contract renewals with the Air Force, Army and the government of the United Arab Emirates during the past year, allowing it to double its staff to nearly 200 employees.

About 70 of the 100 employees that were added work in the company’s offices in Dubai, where they are helping the United Arab Emirates government design training programs for military, homeland security and emergency preparedness, said TechWise CEO Shawnee Huckstep. The other 30 new hires are working on either new or renewed contracts for military training development, logistics and facility support contracts at Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases near Colorado Springs, Fort Benning in Georgia and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, she said.

The expansion represents a major turnaround for TechWise, which cut its 250-person staff in half in 2010 as its military customers shifted work from contractors to their staff as part of a Department of Defense initiative to reduce spending on outside contractors by 30 percent. Under the 2009 initiative, the department had planned to shift 33,000 contractors to civil-service positions by 2015 to free up funding for ships, fighters and weapons systems. But the plan was dropped a year later when it failed to produce the anticipated savings.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/past-143252-springs-staff.html#ixzz23pw0GIqd

CSBJ: Springs Orleans might expand to both coasts

Published in the Colorado Springs Business Journal | August 16, 2012 | Written by Amanda Miller

Springs Orleans head breakfast chef Joey “Moonfish” Duplessis serves up the dishes that have attracted national attention.

Downtown restaurant Springs Orleans could soon become the flagship of a new national chain.
Owner Perry Sanders said he didn’t go out looking for opportunities to expand to new locations, but when opportunity came knocking, he opened the door.

It started when an investment group from the Atlanta area came courting him a couple months ago. They want a Cajun restaurant for their development in the popular Buckhead area outside downtown Atlanta. They were getting ready to sign papers with a chain based in Louisiana when someone among their ranks who had been to the Colorado Springs restaurant stopped them.

“They were raving about the restaurant,” Sanders said. “And even though it’s in Colorado, the group wanted to check it out.”

He said a representative visited and spent days eating the food.

In the end, Sanders said the culinary scout told him it’s wasn’t even a close call. They wanted Springs Orleans, which is part of Sanders’ Mining Exchange Hotel.

“They said we want to deal with you if you want to deal with us — and I said, ‘Oh yes, I want to,’” Sanders said.

Read more: http://csbj.com/2012/08/16/springs-orleans-might-expand-to-both-coasts/