Main Street advisory and development services describe downtown momentum, Hunt Avenue funding and housing pipeline

The Main Street Advisory Committee and city development staff told the Alamosa City Council that a bundle of downtown projects—alley activations, riverfront planning, the Hunt Avenue pedestrian and multimodal improvements and several building redevelopments—are moving from planning into construction and predevelopment, and that housing efforts are advancing alongside downtown activation.

Matt Abbey, chair of the Main Street Advisory Committee, told council members the committee’s work and the city’s adopted downtown design plan have produced tangible projects and events over the last several years. “When we do this, when community leaders, including the business people and the folks at the county and our city staff and the council members plan the work and work the plan together, great things happen,” Abbey said.

Abbey reviewed a list of catalytic projects that the committee and staff described as either complete, underway or scheduled, including monthly street events, alley activation work, façade and building redevelopments, the Hunt Avenue connector, riverfront activation concepts and creative-district efforts. He said the Main Street designation process confirmed the city was already doing many of the activities required for the state program.

Heather James (development services staff) gave the quarterly update on downtown and housing. She told the council the city approved a conditional-use application for redevelopment of the Valley Textile Building and that alley work and utility lining behind several downtown buildings is complete or in progress. For Hunt Avenue, James said full-construction appears feasible next year and that staff secured additional grant support that supplements an earlier revitalized-Main-Street grant; she reported roughly $1 million remained from the original grant and that a separate regional multimodal program provided additional funds, an amount staff identified in the meeting as $1.78 million.

James also described multiple housing predevelopment conversations and technical assistance outcomes: a technical-assistance deliverable on dilapidated-house strategies; ongoing predevelopment for residential projects near the high school; a possible mobile-home development; proposed small modifications to Tierra Azul’s planned-unit development to allow different housing types; and work with CRHDC on multifamily options. The city also secured a $50,000 grant toward a housing needs assessment portion of the comprehensive plan.

Councilors praised the committee and staff. Councilor Jan Vigil and Councilor Liz Hensley thanked Abbey and staff for leadership and for creating a safer, activated downtown. Councilor Cribbs and others asked for engineering-level details about Hunt Avenue and were told detailed plans and RFP sequencing will be provided as the project proceeds. Staff said the city intends to put Hunt Avenue to bid by December with the hope of building most of the corridor next year.

The council did not take an action on these updates; staff framed the reports as informational and as context for grant and capital work anticipated in the coming year.