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Overview of the Downtown Revitalization Project Contact us at lcdt@zianet.com |
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Overview of the Downtown Revitalization Project Contact us at lcdt@zianet.com |
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| The Main Street of Las Cruces is a covered mall with traffic circulating around the area at high speeds, seldom stopping to take advantage of business and cultural opportunities located on the enclosed street. The mall area has little pedestrian traffic by day and none at night. Retail has suffered a slow death. Many storefronts, which are architecturally and aesthetically attractive, are covered by unsightly facades. Most local citizens and prospective tourists do not feel a lure to visit downtown because it is barren and silent much of the time. This is indeed a tragedy because Main Street was once the hub and heart of the town. The landmarks and businesses located there included churches, such as St. Genevieve Parish, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church of Las Cruces, and El Calvario United Methodist Church . Other popular ‘hot spots’ included the Loretto Academy and many retail stores, hotels and colorful western taverns and restaurants. People from the adjoining neighborhoods of Mesquite Street and the Alameda Depot congregated on Main Street to conduct business, socialize, attend worship and generally unite as a community. | |||
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WHAT IS BEING DONE!
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| All over the United States, downtown revitalizations are underway to restore the character and cultures of communities. A city's character cannot be defined by strip malls, chain supermarkets, chain restaurants and fast food marts. The culture, tradition, and the art of our community still exists in downtown Las Cruces, and there is a dire need to preserve the very positive and exciting elements which regenerate life in the center of this city. The Branigan Cultural Center, The Branigan Public Library, The Las Cruces Fine Arts Museum, The COAS Bookstore (the largest used bookstore in the Southwest), the Las Cruces Community Theatre, the new Black Box Theater, the soon to be restored historic Rio Grande Theatre, and White's Music Box, an old and respected family-owned regional music store are thriving entities downtown. | |||
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| LCDT is taking a leadership role in relocating the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History from the commercial mall to the historic old post office building on the downtown plaza. This would allow for expansion of the Museum and would make it more accessible to the citizens of Las Cruces, particularly those residents and schools in the inner-city area. The proposed site is located in front of the Rio Grande Theatre, making both sites perfect for school field trips plus a walk down the street to the museums and the library. LCDT is also spear heading an effort for Community First Bank to move their drive-through facility adjacent to the bank building. Current plans for the plaza include an amphitheater for outdoor concerts and an interactive water sculpture/wading pool (great for inner-city children who cannot walk to public pools). | |||
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PROJECT COLLABORATION
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LCDT has collaborated with Dr. Jon Hunner and his graduate students at New Mexico State University in researching Downtown buildings. Dr. Hunner has donated a quantity of HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL STYLES OF LAS CRUCES books to be sold as fund-raisers for the revitalization effort. The Las Cruces Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture has been enlisted by LCDT Board President, Steve Newby, himself an architect and has donated hundreds of hours of design work for the project, as well as contributing financially. The Doņa Ana Arts Council has relied on Las Cruces Downtown and has included them in all of the walking tours during this past election, to include the candidates for NM Governor and United States Congress. This was a detailed and time-consuming effort but it drew considerable attention to all agencies and businesses downtown. The LCDT Executive Director has also donated direct technical services to the Rio Grande Theatre project and worked to insure the theatre was included in the City budget. The Southwest Environmental Center recently moved downtown and was included in the political advocacy efforts for Main Street. The LC Museum of Natural History has had a close collaboration with LCDT and has also been included in all awareness efforts and advocacy for City funding. The Doņa Ana Arts Council is restructuring some of their activities. Instead of their Spring Children’s Festival they will sponsor the children’s programming for Founder's Day. The Las Cruces Historical Society also serves on the Historical and Cultural Team and will be much a part of the Fiesta. The Friends of Ft. Seldon will collaborate on the Founder’s Day event by providing the reenactments. During Founder’s Day, local dramatist and well-known arts advocate, Irene Oliver Lewis will perform DICHOS DE MI MADRE (Sayings of My Mother) at Court Youth Center where she is Director. This bi-lingual program is highly amusing and very touching as it embodies the Hispanic mothers of the Mesquite Neighborhood before urban renewal separated the neighborhoods and almost destroyed Main Street. With a project of the magnitude of Las Cruces Downtown, “collaboration” is the very essence of the effort and an outreach to all involved. |
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WHO
WILL BE SERVED BY THE PROJECT?
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| Those who will be served by the project are, of course, the existing cultural organizations located downtown such as the Rio Grande Theatre project and the other theaters and museums. Downtown business owners will prosper as economic development efforts proceed and a Business Improvement District is formed. A BID is in the long-range plan for revitalization and will leverage funds to finance improvement projects that need attention. Both neighborhoods will be reunited as one community after many years of being separated. LCDT realizes the downtown can never be what it once was, but it can be a bustling meeting place linking the cultures of this community. The city will benefit by tourism on the cultural corridor of Main Street complete with an Antoine Predock edifice. A Convention Center is going to be built in the next three years, and downtown Las Cruces can be a destination for convention-goers. The entire city will benefit by having the heart and soul of this area restored and returned to its unique character. | |||
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LINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION Phase 1: Overall planning, development and operations - Completed by September 2003 Phase 2: Plaza Development & Construction - Completed by June 2004 Phase 3: Design and Reconstruct Main Street - Completed by year 2007 *This Time Line is approximate. Once Sites Southwest completes the master plan, it will be easier to set goals for specific dates. Also, Federal and State funding will dictate how quickly the project can move to completion. |
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Web page designed and updated by Sandra Blann and Alta Heath
