The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Downtown business owners and shoppers are minding the dust as the construction ramps up and the downtown transformation begins.

Work on several large, multi-use buildings has begun and business owners, city officials, the Main Street Steamboat Springs organization and developers are working together to manage the parking, noise, dust, dirt and traffic.

But it may be too early to tell what effect the downtown construction might have on local businesses.

“That’s a question I’ve been asking myself,” said David Chase Scully, who owns Chase Oriental Rug Co. at Third Street and Lincoln Avenue.

He said he is excited about the changes taking place, and his priority is making sure it is easy for customers to get in and out of his parking lot.

Developer Paul Franklin hopes to start work on The Olympian at Fifth and Yampa streets next month. It will include 23 condos and 7,700 square feet of retail space. The Olympian is one of five large projects under construction this summer.

Franklin thinks downtown will continue to be vibrant and busy this summer despite the construction.

“Activity creates activity,” Franklin said. “It’s going to be very busy, but it will be very positive. There will be some unavoidable inconveniences, but the end result will be more than worth it.”

When construction of major planned downtown projects is complete, there will be more than 100 more residences downtown. Until then, there are going to be a lot of hungry construction workers patronizing downtown businesses, Franklin said.

He said he is working to set up off-site parking for construction workers as well as an off-site staging area. The construction site plan will be very detailed, and Franklin said they would work closely with the city.

“We’re just going to have to be on top of it,” Franklin said.

Developer Jim Cook said he has the advantage of using the future site of Riverwalk for construction worker parking and construction staging. Infrastructure work will likely start on the 240,000-square-foot Riverwalk soon, Cook said, but the site will still be used for staging.

Cook is also developing Alpenglow. Construction has begun on the Sixth Street and Lincoln Avenue site. It will be about 45,000 square feet, including 7,700 square feet of retail space.

Cook also expects construction to begin on Howelsen Place in the next two weeks at Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue. It includes about 118,000 square feet — 41,000 square feet of which is retail space.

Down the street, construction has also started on the 32,650-square-foot Victoria building at Lincoln Avenue and 10th Street.

All the developers have to file a construction site management plan to the city to address some of the things associated with construction, such as dust. Steamboat code enforcement officers will make sure contractors and developers adhere to the plan, the Main Street organization in­­formed its members.

Main Street has some construction plans of its own.

In May, the organization will throw a construction kickoff event.

The plywood that will enclose the sidewalk construction tunnels will be painted by Steamboat Springs High School students in cooperation with local artists who will help them design a theme.

“It sounds like fun, and it will add some color to what otherwise might be a muddy landscape,” said Tracy Barnett, Main Street program manager.

She said Main Street also is considering offering downtown construction tours in response to curiosity expressed by those visiting downtown.

“People are constantly going, ‘What’s going on?’” Barnett said.

— To reach Matt Stensland, call 871-4210

or e-mail mstensland@steamboatpilot.com