Who says you can't turn back time?

A city agency responsible for rehabbing rundown parts of town wants to restart the timetable for its redevelopment of southwest downtown, turning back a 25-year clock on the area's makeover that began ticking more than seven years ago.

The proposal by the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority wouldn't alter plans to replace southwest downtown's mostly light industrial look and feel with a hotel, parking garage, housing and an arts district, among other things.

But a new 25-year window would give the authority time and money to accomplish its plans because little has happened in the area since the City Council designated it as an urban renewal site in 2001, said Chuck Miller, a retired city planning official and a consultant.

Also, Miller said, the authority wants to shrink the size of the initial area within southwest downtown to reflect the economy, and give itself greater power to condemn land there. The latter change could prove controversial since the City Council set the bar high on the use of condemnation in the area when it designated it for redevelopment.

The authority plans to ask the City Council to approve the changes in April or May, Miller said.

Even as those changes are proposed, the authority hopes redevelopment will begin in earnest this year with construction of a hotel, Miller said.

Whether the nine-member City Council would agree later this year to restart the southwest downtown clock or change an existing rule on condemnation in the area is unknown.

Vice Mayor Larry Small said he wants to know more about the reasons behind the changes.

"Whatever they do has to promote the development of the area and has to promote it developing pretty quickly," Small said. "It's set there too long."

At issue is the fate of the long-stalled makeover - a proposed redevelopment of about 100 acres southwest of Colorado and Cascade avenues, with part of the site extending north of Colorado.

For decades, southwest downtown was home to electrical and plumbing businesses, a lumber yard and a smattering of small office buildings and retailers.

Since the City Council targeted the area for redevelopment, little has happened other than the city's construction of America the Beautiful Park, southwest of Colorado and Cimino Drive. Some businesses in southwest downtown closed and others sold their property and relocated in anticipation of the redevelopment; some remaining businesses have complained that the formerly thriving area now is a haven for transients.

Private developers bought large chunks of property and offered redevelopment plans, but a convention center they hoped would anchor a large mixed-use project never got off the ground. A plan to build a hotel on the site of a former Colorado Springs Utilities gas administration building, east of America the Beautiful Park, has been delayed; the property is contaminated by coal tar material left over from a plant that ran decades ago and must be cleaned up.

Still, southwest downtown remains positioned for redevelopment. In August, the City Council approved a scaled-down redevelopment plan for the area that includes a 225-room hotel, a 200-space parking garage and an arts district.

But the authority first wants to employ a new strategy, Miller said.

The 2001 urban renewal designation meant that property and sales tax revenue generated by the area's redevelopment could be used to fund road work, utility upgrades and more.

But under state law, the use of such money is limited to 25 years.

Since no redevelopment took place, no tax revenue came in. Now, the authority wants to restart the 25-year clock with a new designation, which would ensure it could make full use of the tax money when it starts flowing, Miller said.

The authority has hired a Denver consultant to re-affirm that blighted conditions exist and the area still qualifies as an urban renewal site under state law, Miller said. The consultant also would draw up a plan for land use in the area, he said.

The boundaries of the 100-acre also would be redrawn, and initial redevelopment would focus on a smaller area, Miller said. Given the economic slowdown, he said it makes sense to start slow and use all available tax dollars from future development to make sure one area is redeveloped during the 25-year window of opportunity. As market conditions improve, the authority could add another area, he said.

The boundaries of the new area haven't been set, Miller said, but the hotel and parking garage would be first.

When the City Council designated southwest downtown for redevelopment, and to offset concerns of some property owners, the council agreed the city would not condemn property for redevelopment in the area without a three-year wait. In other parts of town, a three-year wait doesn't apply if the city wants to condemn land.

But if the authority needs to assemble land for redevelopment and can't reach a deal with a property owner, three years is too long to wait, Miller said.

"If you believe that eminent domain (the legal term that describes condemnation) is a tool that you may have to use, then the three-year restriction renders it ineffective," Miller said. "It's an unworkable type of thing."

Mike Trapp, whose Olson Plumbing and Heating Co. is one of Colorado Springs' oldest businesses, said he and other property owners in the area fought hard for the waiting period. He said he would oppose a speedier condemnation process.

The three-year wait was considered fair for everyone, Trapp said. Developers seeking to buy property in southwest downtown would be under pressure to make a good-faith offer; otherwise, they'd have to wait three years before seeking condemnation, he said.

Conversely, property owners in the area couldn't hold out forever. The City Council has the final say on condemnation.

"The three-year rule gave both sides power," Trapp said.

Then again, the question of a three-year waiting period could be moot. Since 2001, several southwest downtown property owners have left the area and two major Springs developers, Classic Cos. and Nor'wood Development Group purchased large parcels without the need for condemnation. Also, within the redrawn boundaries for redevelopment, the Urban Renewal Authority hopes to include only property owners that want to be a part of the project, Miller said.

PLAN DETAILS
Elements of the plan include:

1. A 225-room hotel southeast of Colorado Avenue and Cimino Drive.

2. A 200- space parking garage is planned for completion by 2011.

3. An arts district will be developed by 2010 that would include housing units, commercial, warehouse and storage space.

4. A building will be remodeled into offices for U.S. Olympic Committee amateur sports groups.