DREAM CITY: Revival could start with cake, beer

Of the more than 3,000 citizens who gathered to talk about the future in the Dream City: Vision 2020 process, it’s unlikely that somebody said: “Hey, what we really need is more cake and beer.”

But a proposed redevelopment of the closed Ivywild Elementary School, which would include a bakery and brewery, may be the first tangible expression of this expansive grassroots initiative started in 2008. The proposed project, which would require a rezoning, will go to the Planning Commission on Thursday.

Bristol Brewery plans to move its brewery from 1647 S. Tejon St. to an expanded site in the former school at 1604 S. Cascade Ave.

Joseph Coleman, who owns the Blue Star, Nosh and La’au’s Taco Shop, plans to have his chef Alicia Prescott run a new bakery in the building.

The Smokebrush Foundation plans to curate an art space. There also would be a coffee shop and a gym that could host yoga and special events.

Pikes Peak Urban Gardens plans to build a greenhouse and community garden.

The idea of converting Ivywild into a neighborhood mixed-use center with a community garden out front was one of the many ideas that emerged from Dream City, a project spearheaded by Leadership Pikes Peak, The Pikes Peak Library District, The Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region and The Gazette.

 In 2009, teams of volunteers boiled down the responses from the Dream City participants to several vision statements in 11 areas. In the spring of 2009, local architects and designers took these visions and turned them into architectural renderings.

“Dreams have to have a visual component or they don’t become real,” Mark Tremmel,  owner of the Springs-based Tremmel Design Group, said in an article about Dream City in the current issue of Architect Colorado.

Dream City’s clearly articulated desires for stronger neighborhoods and the renewal of blighted areas resonated with the folks at RTA Architects in Colorado Springs.

“We’d already been talking about ideas related to decommissioned schools, and when Dream City came to the table, that’s when we kicked it into high gear,” RTA associate architect Allison Johnson said.

RTA created an architectural rendering of a re-imagined Ivywild, which had just been placed on a Colorado Springs School District 11 closures list.

But Bristol, Coleman and the others involved with the Ivywild project are not using RTA’s drawing. They’re going with Ivywild redevelopment plans drawn up by The Fennell Group.
Jim Fennell at The Fennell Group said, “Ours was well under way before we found out what they had done.”

Early talks about this plan for Ivywild preceded the American Institute of Architects’ foray into Dream City, according to Laura Long at Bristol.

Johnson would have liked the opportunity for RTA to work on the Ivywild project, but she says she’s glad it’s moving forward.

“Ultimately, we’re excited. We think that’s the best thing for the neighborhood,” she said.
Bristol and the others say that although their ideas for Ivywild preceded the artists’ renderings of Dream City, the resulting vision from those brainstorming sessions became “a confirmation of what we already had in mind.”

Recognizing how much their project fit with what people wanted, the project organizers have often invoked the name of Dream City as they’ve maneuvered through the rezoning process, and it’s helped with the momentum.

“Well, you know, I think the people have spoken,” Long said. “This town has maybe a reputation for not being all that cool, and that’s not fully deserved. There are a lot of creative people in this town who are looking to the future and planning amazing things.”

“People hear the term Dream City, and it does open doors to discussion,” Fennell said.

As imagined by The Fennell Group and the business partners, Ivywild certainly would please the Dream City participants who talked about ways to strengthen neighborhoods, preserve historic icons and create more sustainable development.

“Ivywild is such an established landmark, with such a rich history, and so many stories,” Fennell said. “Having a landmark building is certainly a way to build character and identity.
“We’re trying to recreate a neighborhood center,” he said.

They’re also trying to create a project that’s a model of sustainability. Grey water from the brewery would water gardens that would feed the bakery and other Coleman restaurants. Solar panels would generate power and under-floor pipes would generate heat.

The coalition plans to buy the property for $1.22 million, and has secured a loan, they say, but the deal is still pending rezoning approval.