HDCA, city hosting open house on August 22 on downtown configuration

CHELAN - A vibrant downtown commercial district in Chelan serves as an economic driver for the Lake Chelan Valley. Imagine Downtown Chelan is the transformational strategy adopted by the Historic Downtown Chelan Association and is a mix of capital projects and programs.  A thriving downtown Chelan means a working downtown for Lake Chelan Valley residents and an attraction for visitors.
Historic Downtown Chelan Association, along with the City of Chelan, will be holding an open house on Tuesday, August 22 at 9 a.m. in council chambers at City Hall at 135 E. Johnson Avenue. No decisions about the downtown configuration will be made at the open house or at the council meeting at 6 p.m. the same day. The following month will include additional surveys, live testing of ideas, and another open house before the City Council chooses a configuration on September 26.
The public is invited to review and discuss four possible downtown design configurations that are part of the Imagine Downtown Chelan initiative. Imagine Downtown Chelan is an effort to preserve our community's identity, heritage, and sense of place while also making the downtown more user-friendly, clean, safe, and accessible for years to come. This includes infrastructure improvements that have not had a major overhaul since the mid-1980s. Items like improving sidewalks, underground utilities, stormwater, crosswalks, and lighting, as well as addressing the need for better connections from the downtown businesses with amenities like parking, public restrooms, and parks. The initiative will also bring public spaces alive and deliver events and activities that will help create a welcoming and inclusive place to gather.
Imagine Downtown Chelan depends on close partnerships with key stakeholders and public input to develop designs for the capital projects that help promote Downtown Chelan as a vibrant social, cultural, and economic center of the community while emphasizing the preservation of our city’s historic features.
 Currently, there is grant funding in place to develop the downtown design, but no funding is available yet for the construction of downtown projects. Final designs are required to seek funding for the proposed infrastructure upgrades, activation of public spaces, and improvement of connections to downtown amenities. Costs and funding options will be discussed with Chelan City Council in November and December of this year.
For more details about Imagine Downtown Chelan, visit the Historic Downtown Chelan Association website at www.historicchelan.org.