The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Belvidere Pocket Park in Central City was celebrated on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at 5 p.m. The park is located between the Belvidere and City Hall on Nevada Street. The park was made possible by generous funding from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Revitalizing Main Street and AARP Community Challenge grants and technical assistance from Colorado Main Street Program. Recognizing a need to provide outdoor spaces to the public and advocate vacant space, Central City Main Street organization and the Belvidere Foundation initiated the idea of a pocket park in the downtown core.

Construction began in May 2021 by Agave Landscape and Masonry. Improvements and restoration work were completed on the existing rock wall, walkway and entry steps with an ADA railing. A new retaining wall was constructed in the back to enhance safety, and a new terrace with seating space and bike racks was added. Historic preservation was an important factor to the project, as exhibited in the diligent restoration of the historic rock wall at the front of the park.

Lisa Roemhildt, Central City Community Development Planner and Main Street Advisor, facilitated the project. The design for the park came from the Colorado Main Street and Colorado Department of Affairs. The project began as a response to COVID to have more access to outdoor spaces. The park is also part of the City’s Trials and Master Plan to utilize vacant lots.

Central City Mayor, Jeremy Fey, welcomed the guests attending the ceremony. He then introduced Barbara Thielemann, chairperson for Main Street Central City. Main Street Central City is a commission and part of the Colorado Main Street Program dedicated to revitalizing traditional downtown districts within the context of historic preservation. The City of Central was accepted into the program as “Main Street Candidate Community” in November 2015.

Thielemann acknowledged Main Street Central City members Deb Wightman, Jeremy Kaiser, Ashley Martin and Shirley Voorhies. She explained that the Belvidere Pocket Park was funded in part by a $2700 AARP Community Challenge Grand and a $50,000 CDOT Revitalizing Main Street Grant. Central City made a match of 10% to the CDOT grant. The Colorado Main Street Program provided technical assistance for the conceptual design and Larry Lucas prepared the site plan and reviewed the grant applications.

Mayor Fey introduced Betty Mahaffey from the Belvidere Foundation. Mahaffey acknowledged Foundation members: former Central City Mayor, Kathy Heider, Eric Chinn, Patrice LeBlanc, and a special honorable mention to Barbara Thielemann for her tireless efforts to see the building restored. Mahaffey said, “Barbara has worked tirelessly both in public and behind the scenes to move this project forward.” Mahaffey also thanked the Central City staff for their efforts to restore the Belvidere and the lovely park.

The Belvedere Foundation was established in February 2021 with a mission to raise funds to restore the building. So far, the Foundation has received donations and the City Council has allocated $75,000 towards restoration. A $1 million dollar grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for the first phase of the construction has been awarded and a proposal to hire a contractor should be in the near future. The Board is in the process of writing grant applications and hope that their efforts will be rewarded.

Mayor Fey proceeded to perform the traditional ribbon cutting and everyone was welcomed into the park. Refreshments were offered with music provided by Dutch Van Deuchen on keyboard. The park is open to the public and can be leased for special events.

The Belvidere Foundation is accepting donations at https://www.gofundme.com/belvidere-theater.