Urban Renewal Authority Looking to Extend Areas Declared Blight
Published on May 26, 2023
CHEYENNE – The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is considering a blight study for two areas, the Expanded Downtown and Jolly Rogers subdivision. The downtown area includes the blocks between Bent and House Avenues from east to west and between 20th Street and the Union Pacific Railroad from north to south, continuing along from House Avenue to Morrie Avenue from the east to the west and between the alley of 17th Street and Lincolnway, to the Union Pacific Railroad from the north to the south. The Jolly Rogers Subdivision is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and Whitney Road.
Four other areas have been established as blight in Cheyenne: the Hitching Post, Reed Rail Corridor, Hynds and the Hole, and the 15th Street Corridor.
Several factors contribute to the designation of an area being deemed blighted. Factors include deteriorated or deteriorating structures; the predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness; unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements; diversity of ownership, tax or special assessments, delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, and any combination of these factors.
The blight studies will be presented in detail at the URA meeting on Thursday, June 1, at 10 a.m. in Council Chambers. In addition, the plan and a map of the study area can be found on the Urban Renewal Authority’s website at www.cheyennecity.org/URA.
At the URA meeting, the group will take action to send it to the Planning Commission for recommendation by the City Council.
When the City Council declares an area blighted, it allows the opportunity for interested parties to apply for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for redevelopment. Often, the use of TIF funds creates a renewed interest in redevelopment opportunities in blighted areas. This increased investment on the part of private parties and local governments reduces the factors that contribute to the blighted designation.
Citizens interested in redeveloping property in these or any other area declared blighted in Cheyenne can contact Lonnie Olson at (307)637-6307. For more information on urban renewal and the meeting’s agenda, please visit www.cheyennecity.org/ura.
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