Ayres Knowledge Center INDentrification Via Placemaking | Page 7

These animations have the ability to attract initial building investors who grasp the vision and take
the plunge into restoration, while eventually sparking the interest of business owners who might
wish to locate within the project. Paired with the environmental studies initiated with the EPA
Brownfields Program, communities have significant tools at their disposal to affect positive
change. Yet financing public improvements in these INDentrification areas can remain a
challenge. Similar to private sector investors, public leaders require similar encouragement to
make decisions that are innovative in supporting redevelopment. Often, this support comes in the
form of public infrastructure and placemaking that enables private reinvestment to thrive.
In the case of Cheyenne’s West Edge District, the overall vision developed with the assistance of
the EPA Brownfields Program included a four-pronged approach to economic revitalization based
on placemaking and public safety enhancements. By mitigating brownfields and addressing urban
storm drainage concerns, the City has the opportunity to create meaningful park amenities that
motivate reinvestment. Linkage of these four components is best illustrated in the “project
compass” that guided the effort. Connecting different silos of community development projects
helped to develop a strong support for the revitalization effort within the community. This strong
vision also enabled the City to successfully secure grants for different elements of the program
from diverse funding sources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S.
Economic Development Administration.
Figure 7 - The Project Compass was created to clearly explain the interrelated goals of
the West Edge project.
Two centerpiece elements
of public placemaking
provide the backbone of
public spaces to generate an
investment-ready
environment.
The first
public
feature
would
convert a sparingly-used
public parking lot into a
detention pond to address
regional flood control as
well as provide surface
enhancements which create
an
amphitheatre
and
passive recreation space.
Blending the functionality
of purposes enables a
broader set of outcomes to
benefit the City’s residents
while also making the
adjacent
depressed
properties more desirable
locations for revitalization.
The Civic Commons, as the
area is referred to, has the
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