District Reaches Milestone, closing on building as a “Forever Home” for 40 West Arts District, WCCA, and other local creative & civic nonprofits.

Pictured: Bill Marino, Lakewood-W. Colfax BID Chair, Stu Wright, Executive Vice President of FirstBank-Southwest , Kevin Yoshida, President, Lakewood-W. Colfax BID celebrate the purchase of the building at 6501 West Colfax Avenue.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (May 15, 2021) – Sometimes dreams do come true!  After years of searching and planning, the Lakewood-West Colfax BID has teamed up with 40 West Arts and other partners to purchase the building at 6501 W. Colfax Ave.  While it needs much work, it signals that 40 West Arts and its creative partners have reached a milestone for its long-term sustainability as a Creative District—a building that they own and call home.

“The purchase of this building gives us so much more control of our own destiny,” reflected Bill Marino, who chairs 40 West Arts board and heads up the business improvement district. “Having this facility will help us better serve our community and help other local nonprofits as well… With the many delays associated with the pandemic, it took more than a year to get this deal closed. We could not have arrived here without the help and support of many. We’re grateful to our partners at the City of Lakewood and our friends at Broad Street Realty and FirstBank. In addition, the help and guidance from Kevin Yoshida of IDEATE Design and the BID Board of Directors, as well as Don and Carol Calahan of Calahan Construction, were integral in making this happen.”

After the planned yearlong construction effort for the adaptive reuse to reactivate the building, the renovated facility is slated to serve as the headquarters of 40 West Arts District (and its gallery), the West Colfax Community Association and the eventual new location of its mainstay monthly community meetings, and the main office for the Lakewood-West Colfax BID. And that’s not all: Once improvements are completed, the building will house several district galleries that are also looking for a more sustainable location, and a number of other local nonprofits, civic groups, and neighborhood organizations, and potentially additional creative retail and food uses as well.  “Our goal is to make this building a must-see arts and culture destination and a vibrant community hub on West Colfax!” added Marino.

The 11,300 s. f. building is best known as one of the former Denver Drumstick Restaurant locations, a popular family restaurant in the 60s and 70s, known for its boxcar of chicken and shrimp boats as well as the model train that piqued the interest of youngsters and the young-at-heart at this location. Built in 1969, the venue closed its doors later in the 1970s. It was subsequently used as a bingo hall but has been vacant and deteriorating for the last decade or more.

There is still nostalgia surrounding the building as many locals recall the eatery from their youth. The property was included as a noteworthy building in the 2015-2016 historical resources survey of structures in the West Colfax corridor, conducted by Kris and Bob Autobee and a host of local volunteers, funded in part by a grant from the History Colorado State Historical Fund. (Find Resources Survey HERE.)

Don Calahan and Calahan Construction will lead the charge as the general contractor on the project. “The Calahan team has been integral all along the way,” added Marino. The community will start seeing activities on the site in short order as improvement will start within the next two weeks. 

The building, located directly along the 40 West ArtLine, at Lamar Station Plaza will benefit from $12.5M of improvements along this section of West Colfax in the coming years due to a major CDOT grant awarded to the City for significant safety and placemaking improvements as part of Colorado’s Safer Main Street Initiative.

Stay tuned in to #WestColfax & #40WestArts on social media and the monthly e-newsletter for future updates. Attend monthly WCCA meetings on Zoom. More info at https://WestColfax.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Bill Marino, Executive Director, Lakewood. W. Colfax BID
720.530.6051 | wpm@GoWestColfax.org | https://GoWestColfax.org