15th Street business owners see rail cars as catalyst for downtown development progress

CHEYENNE – Although Cheyenne City Council member Michelle Aldrich strongly opposes the 15th Street Railcar Experience, saying it will be expensive and funds should be used elsewhere, many 15th Street business owners see it as a necessary catalyst to drive improvements in the area.

“That is the way that this is going to get done,” said Brian Bau, owner of The Albany, on bringing the rail cars to downtown. “I think those cars provide a sense of urgency that wouldn't exist without them. And so, until I can see on paper some way to arrive there without train cars, I'd much prefer to do the project as a whole.”

Last Friday, Aldrich hosted an event to meet with 15th Street business and property owners about the project and drive them to Swan Ranch to view the state of the cars that are set to be moved to 15th Street as a static display.

She said two business owners specifically told her they could care less about bringing the rail cars to downtown, but they see it as the best way to get the ball rolling on updates to 15th Street, including more pedestrian access and stringing lights above the street, similar to what currently exists on 17th Street. Aldrich said it is just a matter of working with her colleagues on City Council to pursue 15th Street developments without spending money to prepare the site and bring the rail cars there.

“If we can do the improvements on 15th Street without the train cars, they would be supportive of that, but they've been led to believe that the only way the improvements to 15th Street are going to get done is to have the train cars there,” Aldrich said.

15th Street Rail Car Experience

One of the rail cars planned for the 15th Street Rail Car Experience is currently in storage near Swan Ranch. Union Pacific 1959 Caboose 812 is 40 feet long and weighs 70,000 pounds.

15th Street business owner Alexis Garrett, who owns Alexis Drake, said she also sees the rail cars coming to 15th Street as the only way improvements actually will come to the area.

“If we don't start making progress, I fear that it's just going to be forgotten,” she said.

Bau said he sees this project as the city following through on promises to those who invested in Cheyenne’s West Edge by working to develop it, by connecting the downtown core to the Reed Avenue Rail Corridor via 15th Street.

The first phase of the project will cost $3.5 million. Between grant funding, sixth-penny sales tax funds and funds from the Cheyenne Depot Museum, it would cost the city $2.2 million.

This phase includes moving the cars downtown as a static display and connecting them to services like water and sewer to open the possibility of leasing the spaces out to businesses to set up shop in a later phase. In total, the project is estimated to cost $4.8 million before grant and sales tax funding.

Some of the grant funding is dependent upon the city’s completion of refurbishing and moving two of the four cars to 15th Street. If the city backs out now, it will be in the hole on the investment it has already made on the project, including $168,400 for asbestos abatement.

“I can't imagine having a grant for something and not being able to use it because we just decided to not do it,” Garrett said. “I think if we stop, nothing will happen. I don't think that forward progress will happen.”

Aldrich has said the city funds could be better used elsewhere if it pulls out now, such as for road maintenance projects. Council member Pete Laybourn, who also opposes the project, said it would be a safer investment to put those funds toward Reed Avenue Rail Corridor revitalization efforts.

However, council member Mark Rinne said the $2.2 million to come out of the city’s reserves for this project is manageable and the reason the city saves up its funds.

He said when Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins came into office, the city had about 60 days worth of reserve funds built up. Now, the city has enough reserves to cover 285 days worth of city expenses.

City Treasurer Robin Lockman told the WTE the $2.2 million investment in this project is equivalent to spending 14 days worth of city reserve funds. Rinne said economic development is part of the role of the city government.

“Our Legislature now seems to be taking a dim view of reserves. I think at some point, if we have worthwhile projects, we need to move forward with them,” he said.

Visit Cheyenne President and CEO Domenic Bravo (who is currently a member of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s editorial board) and Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen said this project would likely be good for Cheyenne's economy.

“Keeping a tourist downtown just 30 minutes longer to explore engaging railroad exhibits often leads to an extra meal, a shop purchase or even an overnight stay,” Bravo said in a statement Rinne shared with the WTE. “These incremental gains directly support local businesses and help drive year-round economic impact.”

Aldrich expressed further concerns with the second phase of the project – renovating the interior of the cars and leasing the spaces out to businesses. She said the city should not act as landlords for businesses and not interfere with business competition.

“I think that for the city to subsidize small business owners and to compete with our local commercial building owners is a misstep, as far as the City Council goes,” she said. “I think that there are lots of ways to support the economic development and the development of our downtown and the improvement of 15th Street, but it doesn't have to include the rail cars.”

Bau said this is an important consideration, but it can be done well if the city works and communicates with existing downtown businesses.

“I see that there's room for everybody. ... And we are not talking about taking from private business, we're talking about contributing to a whole corridor of vitality,” he said.

The city is currently a landlord for the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, which has its offices inside the former Union Pacific depot. Steenbergen echoed Bau’s sentiment.

“We don't want government to be a giant landlord, but sometimes to get some of these projects accomplished, the only way is to do it as a community. ... It might be that they could set it up where businesses could utilize that space and it would actually help them compete. So that really doesn't scare me,” he said.