The Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced today that the Latino Cultural Art Center (LCAC) in Denver and Clear Creek Center for Arts and Education (CCCAE) in Idaho Springs have been selected to receive Community Revitalization Grants (CRG). These grants support projects that combine elements such as affordable housing, retail and community spaces while meeting the diverse needs of their communities.
“The Community Revitalization Grant program is about so much more than preservation. It helps infuse new life into celebrated community institutions across Colorado, elevating the creative industries and supporting each community’s unique economic development goals,” said Program Manager Sarah Harrison. “These projects will contribute to more equitable economic recovery and development in their communities while demonstrating how mixed-use public funding contributes to a Colorado economy that works for everyone.”
The CRG program is intended to help revitalize community spaces in creative districts, historic districts, main streets and neighborhood commercial centers across Colorado through mixed use development.
The LCAC and CCCAE projects (described below) are the final CRG grants funded by HB22-1409, which provided $20 million to the CRG program. To date, the CRG program has funded 55 projects in 17 counties.
Las Bodegas (Latino Cultural Art Center) – $1,900,000
Denver, CO
The Latino Cultural Art Center (LCAC) is taking side-by-side existing structures and transforming them into a vibrant community art space with renewable energy features. Las Bodegas will be a mixed-use space and home to the LCAC community arts programs, including Ofrendas celebration (known as the Day of the Dead) and public art programs. It will also include two studios for resident artists, four flexible art class spaces for intergenerational workshops, a multimedia lab to teach youth about film and audio, and a cafe that provides additional workforce training opportunities with Girls Inc./Bold Beans as future partners. The development of this permanent and affordable space ensures there will be a place for all community members to call home and access the arts, including those who have historically encountered barriers to this type of programming. Las Bodegas plans to achieve this through high-quality mentoring, technical training, mental wellness/grief programming, and job placement for artists, high school students and undergraduates. This multidisciplinary approach to workforce development will be a catalyst for an equitable recovery. Artists, educators, and youth will have access to workshops and technologies that empower them with the 21st century skills needed to succeed across numerous industries.
