Change comes with success, says Gary Carnes, manager of Mrs. Mayo's cake supply and decorating school. Standing before a counter of wedding-cake brides and grooms, he explains: "For the things you gain, you lose stuff. Does the fact that there's a Chipotle in Highland damage the character or change it? And if it does, is that a bad thing? I agree that this might change the feel of Olde Town, but that's what they're going for. That's what the renaissance is all about."
At the nearby Army/Navy Surplus store, manager Sherry Thompson is willing to take a chance. Although she wonders where the money to fund the rebirth will come from, the timing is right: Denver's renovation boom shows no sign of slowing.
"If we don't do something, we have a chance of losing out on more things," she says. "We can't let Olde Town deteriorate. We need to maintain the level we have now. We need to help it and bring it up."
Which is just what the renaissance project hopes to do, says Penny Coleman, owner of Penny's Antiques. For the first time in a long time, the revitalization effort has support from business leaders, city hall and merchant's groups. More important, it also has more than $1 million in taxes from businesses down the hill in "New Town": Mann Theaters, Home Depot, Office Max and Eagle Hardware.
"So many things are positive now that before seemed insurmountable," says Coleman, who heads the renaissance committee. "It didn't seem we could pull everything together like we have."
Mom-and-pop businesses have nothing to worry about, she says. "Everyone we talk to wants to keep independent businesses here. There's no way you can make Olde Town a LoDo. It won't work. You have to pick up the individual character of each area, work with it and enhance it. We don't want larger chains. We already have a Starbucks down the hill."
But the committee wouldn't turn up its nose at a gourmet restaurant. "We have no nightlife in Arvada," Coleman points out. "There's no high-end restaurants. All you have are quick restaurants. There's no white-linen places. That's one thing everyone asked for. That's something we're going to try and attract."
And if rents rise, "that just means businesses are doing better," she adds. "We have people here who kind of look at their business as a hobby. A lot of them don't want to grow more than they are. Instead of trying to make it positive, they immediately make it negative and don't investigate anything to make it work. Maybe I'm off-base, but I've owned three businesses, and every one has worked really well. I've never depended on any of the businesses around me. I did all the marketing and advertising and made it work on my own. If you really want it to work badly enough and you get off your heinie, it will."
Crawford also bristles at the critics, particularly those who charge that strangers are pillaging Olde Town and destroying its character.
"I was painfully aware of the view that this was people from the outside telling them what to do," she says. "But that just isn't the case. There were a lot of meetings where we went over it and over it. Every idea was something that came from the team meetings. The people who are complaining probably didn't attend any of them.
"It's human nature to resist change," she continues. "I'm sure there are people who would like to have fixative sprayed on it and keep it like it is, fading and less than successful--and it is less than successful. But this project is trying to make sure Olde Town will have a long-term life and not sputter out. It's a unique opportunity. I think Arvada recognizes that."
Coleman says most people do, even though they know it could take five years to get under way.
"We need to keep growing," she says. "If you look back in history, Olde Town has changed a lot in its life. It has had periods when there has been lots of activity and periods where it hasn't. I see this as another high point in the cycle. It's been a while since anything was moving and shaking in Olde Town."
Ron Domenick is planning a rebirth of his own--no thanks to the renaissance committee. Come August, once he sells his stock of antique china and vintage collectibles, he'll expand his train shop next door into a world-class showplace. He'll have an amazing assortment of trains clattering through elaborate displays inside, and outside a mural "with trains busting out of the fucking brick." That is, if the renaissance committee's design guidelines will let him.
"If it doesn't say 'Bumfuck Livery Stable,' it ain't going to fly," he grumbles. "Hey. If you don't like my business, that's one thing. But you get my tax base every twentieth of the month like clockwork. I've always done fine. I've been here fifteen years, and everyone else has come and gone. They should just keep their noses out of it.
