Roadmap paints picture of future growth

What's next for the City of Sundance? The best routes are usually the ones that were planned ahead, which is why the various groups responsible for thinking about the city's future accepted the opportunity to create a roadmap.

Developed by Ben Levenger of Downtown Redevelopment, the "Revitalization Roadmap" was funded through a Wyoming Business Council grant.

"This is a document that will drive action from the economic development group, City of Sundance and possibly other stakeholders, such as the chamber of commerce," says Andy Miller, Economic Development Committee (EDC).

After gathering community input and touring the city, Levenger presented a summary of the situation in Sundance and numerous suggestions for future plans.

"Sundance is beginning to experience growth and diversification, yet the necessary guidance and community support has not been completed to help dictate [the] who, where and when of private development," states Levenger in his report.

“The community has room for further investment, both in densification and adaptive reuse, yet there appears to be limited local funding or desire to conduct such development.”

Status Quo

Levenger’s overall impression of the downtown area was of a well-maintained and well-utilized space, but one with limited amenities and services. Recent years, he says in his report, have seen a change in demographics and a desire to see the Main Street corridor evolve.

Buildings are generally maintained and habitable, he reports, but lack unique elements or style. There is limited space for development and some buildings appear empty due to limited commercial use.

Levenger describes Sundance as a community of “caring, compassionate and civic-minded families who love their community,” but identifies a lack of ownership from some property owners that has allowed the downtown to slip into a state of “visual disrepair”. Though residents want to assist their community, he says, many don’t know how, where or when they might do so.

“Residents of Sundance illustrate ‘character’ in the care and compassion they show towards individual residents and the overall community,” states Levenger’s report.

“While this is an admirable trait, it is also breeding a sense where people are afraid to speak up or propose new changes that will continue to build community character. The character of a community drives the sense of place, and more importantly a sense of belonging.”

Residents love their home, reports Levenger, as well as the amenities it provides. They are also fiercely supportive of their neighbors.

However, he says Sundance’s community character is limited in scope to what may be perceived as a community consensus. According to Levenger, the residents approaching or within retirement age are the most vocal about what the city “should be” and the overall desire of residents appears to be for a sustainable growth policy, conserving agriculture and resources.

Downtown Needs

Levenger identifies several immediate issues with the downtown area, including limited signage on Main Street, which hinders business marketing, and a lack of interior or structural building inspections. Though the downtown is mostly occupied, he continues, the number of retail or sales-based businesses is limited and so is the off-street parking.

In terms of future development and growth, Levenger identifies several factors that may be holding Sundance back. The city is struggling with the necessary infrastructure to support further residential; many of the infrastructure systems are aged or their condition is unknown; properties are not currently meeting their highest potential impact; and the community is missing retail or other sales tax-generating services in the downtown.

Levenger also speaks to the issue of a limited volunteer base. While the city has incredibly vested residents, he says, the small number of volunteers is creating “burn out”.

His report recommends encouraging additional volunteerism so as to utilize the desire and technical know-how of residents to improve their community. He also points out that the new tenants in the city each have desires and needs, many of which he says are not being met.

Among the issues causing this, he continues, are that the city has a limited budget and community groups have limited volunteer members. Residents quoted a fear of change without the ability to help drive and dictate incremental development, Levenger says, while the city’s “aging residents are not passing along information to new tenants, limiting their ability to be part of the city.”

When residents were asked which amenities they feel would best complement their community, the most popular response by far was family friendly dining, which was identified by 86.6% of respondents. There was similar consensus on the question of what would make the downtown more vibrant, with 85.4% of respondents naming improved retail or service establishments.

Of the 136 people who responded, 95.9% supported downtown revitalization and 91.1% felt the downtown does not offer enough services or retail. Over 43% specifically mentioned clothing or retail as necessary services.

Road Ahead

So where do we go from here? Levenger identified five areas of improvement for the city’s roadmap.

Built environment: This refers to the physical space in which users interact with stores or services, or gather in civic spaces. Levenger recommends aiming for a strong and uniform environment that allows people to form an intrinsic bond with buildings that have played a role in their lives. Levenger’s suggestions for this include re-writing codes and ordinances, creating a community master plan, preparing a building inventory, educating the public about the existing façade program, connecting downtown anchors, activating unused spaces and installing signage.

Community character: This refers to the atmosphere that makes a downtown feel like a desirable place to be. It promotes shared ownership and pride, as well as a strong sense of “home.” Levenger’s suggestions include creating a comprehensive vision, implementing a community brand campaign, creating downtown gateway signage, identifying acceptable levels of development and making use of natural resource linkages.

Real estate development: This refers to creating space for businesses to develop and expand, which will drive the local economy, preserve jobs and generate a new tax base. Levenger’s suggestions include a market analysis and hotel feasibility study, identifying spaces for new small offices and assistance to the current market, housing for seniors and workforce, expanded dining, a supported trade school.

Community capacity: The benefits of increasing capacity include more volunteers, a deeper connection with the community, civic pride and more ability to capitalize on available resources and expertise. For this area of improvement, Levenger suggests preparing a volunteer matrix, creating a single community calendar, creating a local workforce training database and program, improving acceptance of transplants and municipal education events at City Hall.

Streetscape enhancements: Streetscapes provide a safe and attractive environment for pedestrians and are one of the most visible enhancements a community can make. Advantages include improved accessibility and foot traffic, improved attitudes towards and perceptions of downtown and improved private development. Levenger’s suggestions include curb bulb-outs and crosswalks, increased sight lines at intersections, restructure of planters, installation of streetscape vegetation and patched and maintained sidewalks.

Levenger’s report also includes a “Big Idea”, a pie-in-the-sky vision of what the future could potentially hold for Sundance. His “Critical Mass Complex” idea includes a dedicated senior center surrounded by housing, parks and room for expansion.

Additionally, he envisions future developments such as a cinema complex and a trades training facility.

What’s Next?

With the report so newly minted, the various entities involved in promoting progress for Sundance have not yet had time to properly study it. However, the next step is relatively clear, says Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz: a capital assessment.

“We’ve looked at what we have, but how do we group it together and what are the steps to go forward?” she explains.

The EDC, Sundance Chamber of Commerce and city will be looking at the same information from different angles, she says. While the EDC might be interested in the potential for senior housing to impact and improve the economy, for example, the city would be more concerned with the infrastructure needs of such a suggestion and quality of life for residents.

“We did a capital assessment years ago in 2011, but ours was more emergency-based,” she says. “We had all these projects that had to be done, but we’ve met them. We’ve fixed all our tanks with the leaks, put them back on the hills, put more pipelines so we have more fire hydrants that are effective.”

The city is now at a point where it needs to reassess so as to find its next list of future needs, hence the capital assessment. This will turn a roadmap into a plan, Lenz says, which will be of particular benefit to future councils and to new committee and chamber members as they come in.

With projects on a list, it will then become possible to look for financial opportunities to realize some of the newly identified opportunities. American Rescue Plan funding is an obvious and upcoming chance to start the ball rolling, says Lenz.

Some items will be more readily achievable than others, she notes, such as wayfinding signs.

“One of the things they did point out was communication [between the city and residents], and we did have quite a discussion about that,” she says.

The city does try to share information about its activities, but is considering new ways to engage the community. For example, a text notification system could be used to let residents know of upcoming events and news, or videos could be created to discuss the annual budget.

What Did Residents Say?

• Residents are willing to accept small amounts of change as long as they know the extents of the impact

• Residents do not like unplanned change and are fiercely protective of their quality of life

• Residents want a vibrant community

• Long-time residents do not want a high number of new additions to the community

• Many business and property owners are not municipal residents

• The community is proud of its heritage and connected

• There is a perception of a lack of follow-through for residents’ desires

How is Downtown Doing?

• There are several hotspots in the downtown, but limited “corridor-wide attraction”

• The streetscapes are in acceptable condition but need maintenance

• There are overgrown trees in the Main Street corridor

Buildings need a facelift to historically correct time periods

• Lack of desire for redevelopment is hindering economic sustainability