Steenbergen: Revitalizing Downtown A Long-Term Project

Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen says there are no  "quick fixes" when it comes to revitalizing downtown Cheyenne.

In view of the fact that many of the downtown property owners don't live in Cheyenne and seem to be holding onto their property as an investment rather than a development opportunity, Steenbergen says the only solution is to make it profitable to either sell the property or develop it.

He says although the process of making that happen could begin in the next year or two, the reality is that it could take a decade or more to complete.

Steenbergen, who has been a consistent  critic of what he sees as over-regulation by city government, says one key step is making development less expensive and easier to carry out. He says the typical model for how to revitalize a downtown area is Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He says Oklahoma City took a full ten years of efforts to really revitalize it's downtown area, and doing so in Cheyenne will take some time as well. He says the local effort will also take some diligent planning and patience to implement.