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Excellence in Economic Adjustment Strategies: The City of Pueblo Rebuilds Its Economic Base (cont.)
The first step the city took was to create the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO), a publicprivate entity charged with attracting new industry to the area. Then in 1984, residents passed a ballot measure to increase Pueblo’s sales tax by one-half cent. The funds were to be directed entirely toward efforts to create new jobs. (Over the 22 years the special sales tax has been collected, more than $88 million has been raised to support economic development.) The city used the new funding to match two EDA Public Works grants to develop industrial infrastructure at Memorial Airport. Those actions proved very successful: the improved and revamped infrastructure helped attract new employers such as Sperry, Target Distribution, McDonnell Douglas, Trane Company and B.F. Goodrich. The next focus area in the revitalization efforts moved back to the city’s core. EDA helped fund the development of the Business and Technology Center, a small-business incubator that would help new businesses start up. EDA also funded a planning grant that was used to prepare three plans – Strategic, Economic and Physical Development – which identified a number of revitalization projects for downtown Pueblo. In 1994, Pueblo voters approved a ballot measure that would allow a portion of the half-cent sales tax to be used to build an $18 million hotel and convention center. In 1995, voters again approved a bond issue for just under $13 million to build the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk Project (HARP). Constructed along the banks of the Arkansas River where it flows through the center of downtown Pueblo, the HARP is now a 26-acre urban waterfront experience that includes trails, sidewalk cafes, commercial and retail development, and public spaces for art and entertainment. It is becoming more and more clear how essential the convention center and the HARP are to continuing the economic expansion of the city’s core. Early in 2006, Professional Bull Riders, Inc. announced that it would construct its headquarters on the HARP. In late May, Cingular Communications broke ground on the HARP for a customer service center that will provide more than 500 jobs paying at least $10 an hour. To build on that success, the community has raised another $2 million for the expansion of the HARP to the convention center. One of the state’s biggest moneymakers has been tourism, but in the past, the city had not sought to tap into that market. With the change of the city’s fortunes since the early 1980s, Pueblo realized that heritage tourism could have a significant impact on the redevelopment of its historic downtown. In early 2000, the City of Pueblo and State of Colorado committed $7 million to redevelop the El Pueblo Museum and Plaza in the heart of downtown. Besides holding the city’s past within its walls, the museum is a popular setting for many events in the city, including the annual Chile and Frijoles Festival. In 2004, the community applied for and received the Preserve America designation.
As with any major plan, it takes more than one person or group to ensure success.While city government was partnering with EDA on various plans and projects, community partners moved forward with their own projects to further the city’s economic adjustment strategy:
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