Midland Streetscape Project Update November 15, 2023

THANK YOU!

The entire Midland Streetscape Project team is so grateful for all your patience during this project.  As we near the end of the 2023 portion of the work, we are grateful for the Basalt community we work for and look forward to continuing a positive relationship as we enter 2024. 

COUNCIL APPROVES PHASE 2 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR 2024

Town Council approved the construction and landscaping contracts for the 2024 continuation of Phase 2 of the Midland Avenue Streetscape project.  The great news is that through a value engineering process, the Town of Basalt realized a reduction of $4.7 million dollars without compromising any major design elements.  This cost reduction was realized by bidding the project during the fall instead of the spring peak construction season, changes in some concrete attributes to other materials, and finding efficiencies in construction techniques.  

The entire budget for the project is approximately $16.8 million, which includes $2.6 million of grants and partnership funding reducing the Town expenses to $14.2 million. This $14.2 million includes a conservative project contingency of $1.2 million.  Also, this $14.2 million includes the additional scope infrastructure improvements to the Midland Spur not originally contemplated in 2021. Through the annual Town budget adoption process, $17.9 million in available funds were previously identified to complete the project.  The final expenses to the Town are notably below the available funds. 

SALES TAX STEADY FOR MIDLAND AVENUE BUSINESSES COMPARED TO 2022

Finance Director for the Town of Basalt, Doug Pattison presented the third quarter financial report to the Town Council last night, which showed positive news for the impact of the construction on the Midland Avenue Streetscape project. He said, "compared to last year there has been no meaningful change in sales tax for Midland Avenue sales tax revenue during this project and no significant uptick at Willits either." 

While individual business reports are confidential, for purposes of determining the impact of the construction, Pattison did separate Midland Avenue from Willits and found that revenues were steady and comparable to 2022 from January through September for both areas of Basalt. This is good news for the businesses of Basalt and the overall economy as our customers appear to be loyal to the fantastic shops, services, and restaurants in our historic downtown.

WATER CONNECTION WORK

Our construction team is in the last phase of connecting properties along Midland Avenue and Basalt Center Circle to the new water main.  We expect to be finished by mid-December.  

This is a major milestone for the project, as the new water main will provide benefits such as improved fire suppression for sprinkler systems and more resiliency in our infrastructure, including greater mitigation in the case of emergencies.  This video provides a good explanation of the work we are doing. 

REIMAGINING THE PAST FOR A

VIBRANT FUTURE

Retaining a sense of Basalt’s history is a key factor in the design of the Midland Streetscape project and was a key factor in the design.

Following the lead from the Basalt 2020 Master Plan and community engagement during the conceptual phase of the project, there are several elements of the design that bring the past and the future together.

WALKING THE RAIL

When the design is completed, the sidewalk in front of the historic Colorado Midland Hotel building (currently Tempranillo Restaurant) will have bands of brick marking where a spur of the original Colorado Midland Railroad came through Basalt.  The historic Colorado Midland Hotel was built parallel to this railroad spur, but when the rail was relocated, the hotel’s façade was angled while the rest of the buildings faced Midland directly.

Basalt was a cutting-edge railroad town with standard gauge rails.  The standard gauge rail is reflected in the streetscape design where each band of bricks is 4’-8½” – the exact dimension of a standard gauge rail. Standard gauge railway lines were an innovation of their time replacing the limitation of narrow-gauge rails used specifically to run in steep, mountainous terrain. By building a standard gauge rail infrastructure, the Colorado Midland Railroad company could recruit engineers from the Midwest to run the line.

Picture 1 depicts the historic Colorado Midland Hotel building circa 1900, now known as Tempranillo

WALKING HISTORY

Embedded in the sidewalk throughout Midland Avenue will be segments of stone showing where the historic property lines were in 1900 and illustrating the names of the former property owners or shops.  The intention is to show how Basalt was created more than a century ago.

In addition, seven more historic signs will be added to the Basalt Walking Tour, bringing history alive and forward facing for all who visit Basalt’s Midland Avenue.

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