Business is booming in Manitou Springs

Manitou Springs seems to be a sweet spot amid a generally sour economy.

Certainly it appears to be doing better than its bigger neighbor to the east. While Colorado Springs’ budget was plagued by largely stagnant sales tax revenues in 2007, Manitou saw its key summer months post increases in sales tax collections as high as 27 percent from the summer before.

As downtown Colorado Springs looks to fill numerous vacant storefronts, businesses are said to be desperate for a spot to open up on “the avenue” — Manitou Avenue — in downtown Manitou Springs.

“The mood is really positive by the merchants,” said Kitty Clemens, director of the Manitou Springs Economic Development Council. “I have some merchants who bypassed their 2006 sales by the end of July 2007.”

Manitou, hailed recently by The New York Times as “a little jewel box of a village at the foot of Pikes Peak,” benefited from a strong summer tourism season statewide in 2007.

But many other factors have also come together to put the town on a positive path.

Manitou voters in 2003 overwhelmingly approved a three-tenths-of-acent sales tax increase for a downtown revitalization project.

Work continues until 2010, with a new phase beginning this month, but the streetscape improvements completed so far already make for a more inviting Manitou, merchants say.

Also in 2003, the business community voted to create a Business Improvement District, which has raised money for marketing and other downtown projects.

Downtown Manitou also has gotten a boost from the renovation of the historical Manitou

Spa, which is becoming a mix of lofts, artist galleries and other businesses, including a winery. Adam’s Mountain Cafe serves as the anchor for the center.

“It was such an eyesore,” Susan Wolbrueck, owner of RetroMoto Toys in Manitou, said of the formerly dilapidated spa building. “It’s huge to have it looking better. I think once it gets filled up, it’s going to give us another real push forward.”

Not just for tourists

Some new businesses have popped up in Manitou in the past year or so, including a general store at the spa building, the Heart of Jerusalem Cafe and Salus, a bath and body care store.

But one newcomer is actually an old friend. John Eastham opened his Whickerbill store in Manitou in 1957, then moved it to downtown Colorado Springs two years later. He retired in 2006, then decided retirement didn’t suit him. So he opened a new Whickerbill — this time back in Manitou.

He ticked off several advantages that downtown Manitou has over downtown Colorado Springs: “Lower rents, no parking meters, no street people.”

Asked whether Manitou had changed much in a half-century, he said, “Oh, heavens, yes.” Fifty years ago, he said, there was nothing but souvenir shops. Now, he said, “it’s all speciality stores, a very interesting mix of merchandise.”

That mix is key to developing a year-round economy for Manitou, Clemens said.

“Our product mix is getting much more relevant to local people,” Clemens said. The town, she said, has more to offer area shoppers, making the holiday season a significant one for Manitou merchants rather than “just a blip on the radar screen.”

“I think the shops in Manitou are always something different,” said Jeri McGinnis, owner of GiGi’s, The Animal Lover’s Gift Shop. “You just don’t find the run-of-the-mill stuff over here.”

A mix of retail also helps keep Manitou residents from heading elsewhere with their dollars. But there are some needs the town has yet to meet, said Natalie Johnson, owner of Black Cat Books in downtown Manitou.

“I know when I talk to people, they would definitely like to see a hardware store in town. They would like to see a grocery store in town.”

Clemens would welcome a bakery, but she said it’s tough to find a building where it’s economically feasible to make necessary modifications such as vents and a grease trap.

“That’s one thing we can’t seem to do is find a place for a bakery.”

Eastern gateway changes

Despite the generally rosy picture in Manitou, there are concerns.

Clemens worries about the overall economy — the downturn in housing, high gas prices, a loss of higher-paying jobs.

“The things that make me worry the most are the things we can’t control here,” she said.

One thing the town can do is strengthen efforts to rely less on summer tourism, said Manitou’s mayor-elect, Eric Drummond, who will be sworn in Tuesday. He wants to attract conferences — “business groups, lawyers, doctors” — to Manitou during the spring and fall.

“I’m actively talking to people about having conferences here on those shoulder months,” he said.

Another challenge is sprucing up Manitou’s eastern gateway. In 2006, the Manitou City Council approved creation of an Urban Renewal Zone and a $30 million tax increment financing package to attract developers interested in remaking the stretch of mostly dated motels.

Though that process is still getting under way, there are already signs of change in the area. The Cottonwood Court motel, for example, has been leveled and will be replaced this year with a Days Inn.

Drummond would like to see some mixed-use development at the eastern gateway — perhaps buildings with residential on top and commercial on bottom. He wants development that adds to the mix of business while maintaining the uniqueness of Manitou.

Though there’s potential on the west side of Manitou for growth, the eastern corridor offers the best immediate opportunity for increasing the town’s sales tax base, Drummond said. Though sales tax collections have not been reported for the holiday months yet, collections at the end of the third quarter of 2007 were up 6.3 percent from the same period of the year before.

That growth hasn’t been enough to fully protect the town of 5,000 from budget woes, though.

Manitou’s budget crunch has been more about holding the line than making widespread cuts, Drummond said. For the 2008 budget, a lot of “reasonable requests” — for personnel, for equipment — had to be rejected, he said.

Drummond is enthused about Manitou’s future. He points to new businesses, the spa renovation, a planned expansion by the Cliff House at Pikes Peak and the streetscape improvements as elements moving Manitou forward.

“I think each of those pieces builds on the others.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0272 or bill.radford@gazette.com

MANITOU’S FUTURE

What are the key challenges ahead for Manitou Springs and its merchants?

Kitty Clemens, director, Manitou Springs Economic Development Council

“I think the biggest challenge will be maintaining the momentum,” Clemens said. She also cites the tiny marketing budget of the Manitou Business Improvement District — a budget she doesn’t see growing. “Every year, we have to be that much more creative with our marketing strategies.”

Susan Wolbrueck, owner, RetroMoto Toys

Manitou must continue to attract unique retailers, she said. And to do so, rents must remain reasonable. “Our building owners really have to help us with that.” Development at Manitou’s eastern gateway offers both opportunity and challenge, she said. “It’s going to take a lot of smart planning to put in the right mix of things on our east end.”

Bianca Codiga, owner, Mountain Living Studio

For a small business such as hers, “letting people know you’re here can be a challenge,” she said. Since her advertising budget is small, “I’m always hitting people up for, ‘Hey, let’s do a co-op thing, let’s advertise together.’”

Jeri McGinnis, owner, Gigi’s, The Animal Lover’s Gift Shop

“I think it’s always really important to get people to remember Manitou. I live in Colorado Springs and I’m always hearing people say, ‘Oh, I had forgotten about Manitou.’ It’s just a matter of getting people to remember us, the cute shops.”