The town of Carbondale invites you to share your vision for the donated properties downtown on June 3. There will be activities and ice cream on-site from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Photo by Raleigh Burleigh

After months of anticipation, the public will have an opportunity to share ideas with the town of Carbondale regarding the 16 donated lots surrounding Thunder River Theatre Company’s building, aka Town Center.
On First Friday, June 3, the town will host a visioning party on location from 5 to 7:30 p.m. While trustees carry clipboards, Carbondale Arts will offer creative activities, like using Lego bricks and markers, to dream up a project. Written and drawn aspirations from the community will be hung like flags to inspire others. To entice a crowd, there will even be free ice cream.
Previous to that public engagement, the Board of Town Trustees received background information about the property, its history and limitations, from consultant Robert Schultz. Because the land is zoned “historic commercial core,” for example, street-facing frontage is required to be commercial. The full presentation by Schultz, delivered on March 15, is available for review at here.
As noted by former trustee Heather Henry during a follow-up work session on April 19, the land donation itself clears one major hurdle for developing an affordable housing project, however, “affordability is way more than just land costs.”
Graciously, the town has a rare opportunity to partner with Artspace, a national nonprofit “specializing in creating, owning and operating affordable spaces for artists and creative businesses.” Way back in 2017, Artspace was engaged by former town manager Jay Harrington and Carbondale Arts Executive Director Amy Kimberly to conduct a feasibility study in Carbondale.
According to Kimberly, at that time, the state of Colorado had committed to building nine Space to Create projects, with new and expanded affordable mixed-use developments, over the course of ten years. Based on the way the state is partitioned by the Department of Local Affairs, Carbondale was placed in the same region as Paonia and, ultimately, Paonia was chosen.
By November 2020, Paonia’s trustees decided at the recommendation of the Space to Create executive committee to permanently suspend its program and reallocate funds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Even before the town got this land,” Kimberly told The Sopris Sun, “I had been advocating with Colorado Creative Industries to revisit our region to see if they would give a project to Carbondale, since Paonia couldn’t fulfill that. … Now, with the acquisition of this land, all of the pieces are in place and the state is ready to go with us being a Space to Create, should we as a community decide to go forward.” The designation comes with close to $1 million in pre-development funds, and Artspace is able to assist with finding additional funding.
Kimberly, also on the board of directors for Thunder River Theatre Company, would personally like to see the ground floor remain commercial, with rehearsal and maker spaces, as well as retail outlets. Of course, “[affordable] housing is numero uno,” but she imagines “a mini creative district within the creative district” lending extra vibrancy to Carbondale’s core.
Kimberly also made clear that, although marketed to creatives, affordable housing can’t be restricted to people with specific occupations. And it’s up to the community whether Carbondale wants to partner with Artspace or pursue other avenues.
Learn more about the Town Center visioning party by tuning in for Everything Under The Sun and Express Yourself this Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m. on KDNK.
On June 21, trustees will take up the topic for another formal discussion.
In other news, the town will be hiring for four town hall positions, with both Finance Director Renae Gustine and Planning Director Janet Buck departing in the coming months, plus another position in the planning department and a communications role. The jobs will be posted at www.carbondalegov.org
During their regular meeting on May 31, trustees decided not to change the short-term rentals ordinance at the request of a resident to allow for non-home owners to receive a permit. The issue will be rolled into a larger discussion in the fall, as initially proposed.