Colorado Springs: Shooks Run and Fountain Creek Revitalization (Brownfields)

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Do you own or plan to buy or develop property near Shooks Run Creek in Colorado Springs or Fountain Creek in Fountain? Assistance is now available for brownfield revitalization in these areas through the Brownfield Assessment Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The grant is helping to revitalize vacant and underused properties, or brownfields, primarily in Colorado Springs and Fountain along the Shooks Run Creek and Fountain Creek Corridors. Funding is being used to identify sites for revitalization, assess existing site conditions, and plan for future cleanup and reuse of priority sites.

Funding is available through September 2022, and property owner participation is completely voluntary.

In this meeting The Colorado Springs-Fountain Brownfield Coalition will provide an overview of brownfield characteristics and the goals of the grant program. They also will share progress made so far, and discuss how community members and property owners can nominate sites for potential grant-funded assistance. A question-and-answer session will follow.

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Background

In 2015, the City of Colorado Springs embarked on Envision Shooks Run- a community-driven plan to breathe new life into the Shooks Run Creek Corridor. The 4-mile Corridor is planned as the final segment of the landmark 10-mile Legacy Loop Greenway that rings downtown Colorado Springs, connecting a regional web of creeks and trails. The Loop's transformational potential is evident in the vibrant parks, neighborhoods, and up-and-coming economies along its completed sections. However, brownfields blight the Shooks Run Corridor, isolating it from downtown Colorado Springs and impacting the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Fountain Creek Corridor located in the City of Fountain, downstream of Shooks Run, is also a focus area for the grant-funded efforts.  The City of Fountain plans to prioritize brownfield revitalization in the US Highway 85 (US85) Urban Renewal Area (URA), which consists of the Gateway Improvement and the Olde Town sub-districts. This grant effort will work in tandem with prior studies and revitalization efforts of today. The 83-acre Fountain Creek Bank area is also a high redevelopment priority because it is an underutilized commercial area located between Fountain Creek, US85, and Fountain Creek Regional Park. The Creek Bank area sites are characterized by decades of mixed-material manufacturing use, heavy fleet and automotive repair operations, and outdoor storage.

Filed Under: Government, City

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