By Patrick Mulready
City Planner, City of Cañon City
As it flows through Cañon City from its source near Leadville, the Arkansas River has shaped our community for hundreds of years – its geography, economy, and culture. Today, through a unique confluence of events, there is an opportunity for the people of Cañon City to help shape the future of the river and the important and exciting role it will play in the growth of our community.
Cañon City residents are invited to attend a community meeting taking place from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance, in the Gateway and Depot Plaza building at 816 Royal Gorge Boulevard. The purpose of the meeting is to seek resident input and ideas for redevelopment of a vital riverfront site at the western gateway to Cañon City – the 22-acre location of the former Black Hills Energy W.N. Clark power plant, which stood in this location from about 1897 to 2012.
Black Hills Energy has partnered with the city to prepare the property for redevelopment and support the community’s vision for riverfront redevelopment. After generating electric power to serve Cañon City for more than 100 years, the W.N. Clark plant was decommissioned. Demolition and remediation were completed in 2015. The site sat idle until the City’s Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan identified the site as an important redevelopment opportunity. With its proximity to downtown and its adjacency to the river, the property was categorized as a potential multi-use recreation hub.
The ARCMP became a catalyst for redevelopment by clearly prioritizing recreation and tourism—rafting, fishing, walking, biking—and by calling for strong connectivity between the riverfront, future development sites, Main Street, trails, and available parking. Together, these elements complement existing trails and businesses, make the area more attractive to residents, visitors and investors, and help reduce overall redevelopment costs. With this clear direction in mind, several pieces fell into place.
In 2020, Black Hills Energy sold its water shares associated with the plant and gifted the proceeds of $282,000 to the city, encouraging us to use the funds to redevelop the property, given its prime riverfront location near Downtown Cañon City.
The following year, Black Hills Energy enrolled the property in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Voluntary Clean Up Program, investing more than $384,000 in additional remediation that was tailored to support site redevelopment as imagined in the master plan. In 2022, CDPHE issued a “No Action” determination, meaning the site is safe for human health and the environment, and is ready for development, particularly for its intended use as an open space recreational facility. Last year, the city utilized the water funds donated by Black Hills Energy as matching funds to secure a $544,000 Great Outdoors Colorado grant, enabling the city to purchase the land.
In September, Cañon City engaged a respected, innovative urban planning and design firm, PORT Urbanism, to assist with master planning and community engagement for the redevelopment of the W.N. Clark site with a project titled “Western Gateway Master Plan.” PORT is responsible for researching and recommending ideas for maximizing the future potential of the Western Gateway property, including land use options that will be attractive for Cañon City residents and visitors alike. Additionally, this project is examining options for the re-use of the former Parks Department offices located in Centennial Park, less than one-quarter mile from the Western Gateway property.
At the upcoming Tuesday meeting, conceptual display boards will be set up so community members can see the area of the Western Gateway planning zone and the context offered by the former W.N Clark site, learn about the surrounding area and any planning limitations, and discover how this project ties into the broader Picture Cañon City 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Cañon City planning staff and representatives of PORT Urbanism will be on hand to share information and to capture input from city residents on what they would like to see in the future at this prime Arkansas Riverfront location.
Oftentimes, great community projects require complex partnerships, and this project is a prime example of what can be achieved when partners identify shared priorities and work together to achieve them. Cañon City is grateful to Black Hills Energy, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and Great Outdoors Colorado for this once-in-a-generation planning opportunity, and we encourage residents to turn out, learn more, and share their ideas for the future of this site this Tuesday.
