Steam Plant to Anchor West Edge Project [VIDEO]

Two Cheyenne business men are purchasing a former steam plant in Cheyenne in hopes of revitalizing the western portion of downtown.

The vacant building, which is located at 800 West 17th Street, is being bought by West Edge Development Co., which is owned by Chet Halvorson and Craig Riley.

Bob Bradshaw, Special Projects Director for the City of Cheyenne, says the old steam plant will serve as an anchor for the West Edge.

"You always wait for that prime interest that takes place when you have a pretty good-sized project as an anchor that attracts other developers and that's precisely what we have here," said Bradshaw. "The steam plant was one of five or six catalyst sites on the West Edge Project and it's probably the biggest catalyst site and the most important and it happened to be the first one to go, so this is a win-win situation for everybody."

Bradshaw says developers plan to turn the old steam plant into a mixed-use facility.

"It's very much like the old steam plant in Spokane. In that location there's a restaurant, a bar/lounge, retail shops, that sort of thing," said Bradshaw. "This is a pretty unique form of downtown redevelopment or economic development and it seems to be working out nicely. Just in the last couple of weeks we've had some other developers that have stressed specific interest in specific locations for specific projects and we look forward to making those announcements before too long."

Closing on the steam plant is scheduled for January 2016.