Agency's $124k grants help give downtown a facelift

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum has won a $5,000 grant it will use toward its $1 million restoration project, museum director Matt Mayberry said Thursday.

The grant came from the Downtown Development Authority of Colorado Springs, which announced $124,250 in grants to 20 organizations Thursday. The grants cover projects such as new windows and paint on downtown buildings, funding for arts festivals, murals on downtown buildings, landscaping, signs and stained glass for buildings.

Mayberry said the Downtown Development Authority's matching grant will be pooled with other gifts in hopes of winning a $200,000 State Historical Fund grant to be announced in August.

"It will go towards the first phase of our exterior restoration," Mayberry said.

If the museum wins the state grant, it would have about $270,000 to start the restoration of exterior metals, wiring and roofing on the historic old El Paso County Courthouse building.

The agency was created by voters in 2006 to promote downtown development. It's funded by a 5-mill property tax levy assessed within the downtown district, which generally stretches from Cache La Poudre Street on the north to Fountain Boulevard on the south and Interstate 25 on the west to El Paso Street on the east.

The tax amounts to an estimated $75 per year for a $150,000 property.

The Downtown Development Authority could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Here is a list of all grant recipients and their projects:
1. 130 E. Kiowa, LLC, 130 E. Kiowa St.; window and frame restoration
2. 303 S. Cascade, LLC/First Business Brokers, 303 S. Cascade Ave.; landscaping, sidewalk repairs and building painting
3. Acacia LLC, 31 & 35 E. Platte Ave.; new windows, facade treatments and awnings
4. Chadbourn Community Church, 402 S. Conejos St.; window trim paint and new front door
5. Colorado Springs Conservation Corps, 409 N. Tejon St.; help create Downtown Conservation Hardware Center
6. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.; exterior rehabilitation of courthouse
7. Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, 121 S. Tejon St.; exterior sign
8. Ecumenical Social Ministries, 201 N. Weber St.; mural on exterior of building
9. FutureSelf, beneath the Colorado Avenue Bridge; event funding
10. Imagination Celebration, Pikes Peak Center; July festival funding
11. Independent Film Society, downtown; funding for 2010 Indie Spirit Film Festival
12. Mt. Tejon, 125½ N. Tejon St.; exterior sign and door upgrades
13. Pikes Peak Arts Fest, America the Beautiful Park; event funding
14. Rasta Pasta of Colorado Springs LLC, 405 N. Tejon St.; exterior sign, mural and sidewalk dining area
15. Sierra Madre Investments LLP, 14 & 18 N. Sierra Madre St.; exterior wall mural
16. Boulder Street Gallery, 206 N. Tejon St.; stained glass work for exterior building facade
17. The Club of Arts, 825 N. Cascade Ave.; Fashion Art Festival and fundraiser
18. The Modbo, 17 C. E. Bijou St.; gallery enhancements
19. Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado, 315 E. Costilla St.; landscaping, lighting and sign
20. Palmer High School, 301 N. Nevada Ave.; improvements to landscaping