Historic Placemaking Strategies for Invigorating Downtown Cheyenne

Executive summary: "Downtown Cheyenne presents a conundrum. It offers so many of the ingredients shared by communities that radiate a strong sense of place, from its historic structures and walkable streets to its strong employment base as home to Wyoming’s capital. Several property owners are investing in downtown Cheyenne and report strong interest, especially as the region’s economy rises in tandem with world-wide energy demand. And yet, vacant storefronts and struggling businesses affirm the conventional wisdom that downtown Cheyenne has yet to meet its potential. Over the years, Cheyenne’s leaders have invested in downtown, recognizing that a vibrant central business district nurtures the arts, small businesses, property values and provides an incubator for young companies getting a toehold on profitability while reducing sprawl and its costs. The community – especially downtown property owners – deserves immense credit for establishing the Downtown Development Authority, Cheyenne’s lead organization for enhancing the CBD. This report sets forth recommendations stemming from a year-long collaboration between the City, the DDA and over 400 of downtown’s champions and stakeholders to identify strategies to accelerate its recovery. The Historic Placemaking Project emerged from growing interest among community leaders in exploring how downtown Cheyenne can progress, adapting and evolving to fulfill the regions’ needs today and tomorrow. PLACEMAKING refers to both the process and the activities that together create enjoyable, distinctive communities where authentic environments meet the needs of residents, employers and tourists. The Downtown Historic Placemaking Project strived to support partnerships and implementation from the start, involving hundreds of stakeholders in the quest for effective strategic initiatives. That meant confronting dysfunctional aspects of the system for fostering change downtown. Frustration with most of the organizations working downtown abounded, making normal communications hitches even more salient. Finally, the dialogue between the private sector and downtown’s stewards reflects years of both good will and exasperation, making for productive partnerships punctuated by occasional mutual aggravation. Fortunately resources for addressing downtown’s unmet potential include: committed leaders, attentive stakeholders; a full complement of development organizations; definitive legislative authority; the financial wherewithal to make a difference. During the Downtown Historic Placemaking process, stakeholders suggested hundreds of ideas for how to deploy these resources in the service of downtown. These ideas were consolidated into 41 strategic initiatives organized in two ways: first, by the logical organization with primary implementation responsibility, and; second, using seven “bucket” issue/action categories describing downtown’s physical plant, business life and future development prospects. The strategies are further distinguished by ease of implementation and impact along with specific steps, budgets, success metrics, and timelines. Funding was provided in part by a 2011 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board (project number WY-11-34) administered by the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 56-11-31957) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Cheyenne, Wyoming is a Certified Local Government.

Historic Placemaking Strategies for Invigorating Downtown Cheyenne

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