Wellington Awarded $150,000 towards Downtown Improvement Projects

Annie Lindgren

North Forty News

Wellington is among four recipient communities receiving the 2021 Revitalizing Main Streets grants through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

“The Revitalizing Main Streets grants help localities improve their roadways and community infrastructure, supporting strong economic activity and public safety. The program began last summer in an effort to mitigate the negative economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis,” shares CDOT.

The Town of Wellington received $149,999 in grant awards after a successful grant application made by the Wellington Main Street Program. The Project includes Downtown Improvements and Pedestrian Safety Initiatives.

The Wellington Main Street Program and the Town of Wellington will partner in purchasing and installing a series of equipment to address pedestrian safety, accessibility, and the health of visitors and residents in downtown Wellington. Improvements include directional lighting, waste bins, park benches, tables, bottle-filling stations, and bike racks.

“We are thrilled to be able to make these much-needed improvements to the downtown.  Safety and walkability have been a priority for the program since we started in 2014. Our partnership with the Town of Wellington has been an invaluable asset to the community, and we are excited that all of the hard work and collaboration has paid off and that our local businesses and residents get to benefit,” shares Kallie Cooper, Executive Director of the Wellington Main Streets Program.

Wellington Mayor Troy Hamman adds, “Watching the hard work of the Main Streets program and Town of Wellington staff pay off through such a tangible benefit to our community makes me proud. The collaboration taking place to ensure Wellington is safe, beautiful, and accessible for everyone while remaining fiscally responsible directly aligns with the priorities of the Board of Trustees. Receiving this grant is another clear indicator that we continue to move in the right direction, which is cause for celebration! Thank you to everyone involved in this process; your dedication and contributions do not go unnoticed.”

The continuation and expansion of this Revitalizing Main Streets grant program were made possible through a $30 million allocation from the state legislature in March 2021. Those funds are currently available for local government competition, with significant anticipated demand. Notably, the passage of SB-260 further extends this highly successful program beyond the current grant cycle.

Communities can apply for small grants up to $150,000 for multimodal and economic resiliency projects available on a rolling basis; large grant applications of up to $2 million closed on May 14. For more information, visit the Revitalizing Main Streets page.

Wellington residents, visitors, and business owners will soon start seeing improvements popping up around town. Solar-powered directional lighting, updated trash, and recycling receptacles, coated park benches and picnic tables, touch-less water bottle filling stations, dog waste stations, replacement tree grates, and added bike racks are on the to-do list.

The Wellington Colorado Main Streets Program is a 501c(3) organization committed to promoting, developing, and enhancing downtown Wellington. Wellington became a Graduate level Main Street Program in 2020, which is the highest level of Main Street Program, speaking volumes to the value this program brings to the community. It also makes the community eligible for greater grant opportunities, with this grant award being the biggest yet. These projects are completed through a partnership between the Wellington Main Street Program and the Town of Wellington.