Wyoming Business: IKON Center a model for downtown projects

CHEYENNE – Cheyenne’s new IKON Center is being hailed as more than just an ice rink and events center, but also as an icon for future public-private partnerships in projects that can enhance the community.

The newly opened $4.6 million ice center was conceived and developed as a private project by Cheyenne lawyers Jack Speight and Mike Rosenthal, but both the city of Cheyenne and Laramie County contributed to the project, and the city’s eight largest banks combined forces to help finance the project.

The results go beyond merely providing the community with its first indoor ice facility, including a National Hockey League regulation-sized 200-by-85-foot ice rink with balcony seating for 900 and the community’s largest banquet facilities.

The IKON Center public partnership can be used as a model for similar developments, including development of the historic Union Pacific Depot in downtown Cheyenne, city leaders say.

The new center also can help Cheyenne attract bigger conventions, said Paul Smith, owner of the Hitching Post Inn, who donated land northeast of his hotel for the center. Cheyenne has been limited in the size of conventions it can attract because of lack of large meeting and banquet facilities.

Lowe’s distribution center still possible

CHEYENNE – Cheyenne apparently is still a top contender for a proposed Lowe’s Cos. Inc. distribution center along the Front Range, but local economic-development officials say they have not been informed of any decision.

Lowe’s officials have conducted detailed inspections of a proposed site in the Cheyenne Business Parkway and are evaluating the merits of several sites, including Cheyenne, said Jack Crews, president of Cheyenne LEADS, the city and county economic-development corporation.

Crews said Lowe’s has undertaken “technical due-diligence” studies of the Cheyenne site, but he believes a decision is at least several weeks away.

The proposed distribution center for the national home-improvement company could bring upwards of 600 new jobs to the community.

Lowe’s is one of the nation’s top 15 retailers and the second-largest home-improvement retailer, with 620 stores in 39 states. The Wilkesboro, N.C.-based company in 1998 announced plans to go coast-to-coast with a major $1.5 billion expansion into the West.

Mayor wants aggressive economic development

CHEYENNE – Cheyenne voters have chosen a new mayor who is pledged to growth in the community and “aggressive” economic-development efforts that will pay off in creating better-paying jobs.

Ward II City Councilman Jack Spiker successfully challenged two-term mayor Leo Pando in a race that produced somewhat different views of how fast Cheyenne should grow but ultimately was decided on Pando’s record over the last eight years.

Spiker was viewed by some as being less pro-growth than Pando, because he advocated starting with a 2 percent annual population growth rate, while Pando called for 3 percent to 5 percent. But Spiker also wants to see a 4 percent to 5 percent increase in annual per capita income, and he noted that Cheyenne’s growth was historically only around 1 percent during Pando’s eight years in office.

Spiker, a downtown businessman, said economic development is “really critical” and pledged to work closely with local and state economic-development authorities to attract higher-paying jobs. One of his first actions, he said, would be to set aside $1 million from city reserves for economic development.

“I see myself as a hands-on mayor and taking a leadership role in going after these higher-paying jobs,” Spiker said.

Two chamber officers win council seats

CHEYENNE – Two officers of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce are among four newcomers winning seats on the Cheyenne City Council.

Tom Segrave, the current chamber chairman, and Patrick Collins, the next chamber vice chairman, campaigned for growth and economic development in the community, and both pledged to seek additional funds for economic-development activities.

Other successful candidates for the nine-member council include newcomers Tom Scherr, an online investor, and Floyd Lopez, a car salesman, along with incumbents C.J. Brown and Don Pierson. All favor developing Cheyenne’s economy.

Corral West announces Cheyenne expansion

CHEYENNE – Corral West Ranchwear Inc. plans to open an 80,000 to 100,000-square-foot facility in Cheyenne this summer to house the company’s corporate headquarters and catalog and distribution centers.

The building will be located in the Cheyenne Business Parkway, which is owned by the Cheyenne-Laramie County Corp. for Economic Development.

“We’re essentially completing a move that began in August when we moved our fulfillment center here from Denver,´ said CEO Les Ball. When the building is complete, “we’ll move the phone center here.”

Consolidation of various divisions in Cheyenne will bring about 30 additional jobs to the area, Ball said. Corral West employs 250 people in 13 stores across the state and its Cheyenne-based corporate headquarters, and nearly 800 people overall. It has 90 stores in 19 states, mails nearly 1 million catalogs annually and has an online catalog (www.corralwest.com).

Dennis E. Curran is executive editor of The Wyoming Business Report, a sister publication of The Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at (307) 776-3666, or via e-mail at denncurran@aol.com. His fax number is (307) 776-3600.

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