Visit Cheyenne partners with city to build railroad experience
Sep. 28—CHEYENNE — The city has partnered with Visit Cheyenne to help fund the development of a Cheyenne Railroad Visitor Center within the next few years.
As currently proposed, a line of rail cars on the south side of 15th Street would be featured at the visitor center, near the historic former Union Pacific depot downtown. And according to preliminary plans, there could be shops, boutiques, a restaurant and more inside the refurbished cars.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the city and Visit Cheyenne was approved by the Cheyenne City Council at Monday's council meeting. The document sets terms and conditions for the project between the two parties, which will include up to $120,000 in public funding.
"I think we've all known and recognized the potential that 15th Street has for revitalization," said City Council member Pete Laybourn.
The partnership with the city is designed to support Visit Cheyenne — Laramie County's convention and visitors bureau — in the first phases of the project, in order to set the railroad visitor center up for success.
A city grant writer will help Visit Cheyenne obtain grants and possibly tap into sales tax revenue. The city Engineering Department will oversee obtaining professionals to develop a plan, as well as approve engineering expenditures. And the city will manage the completed project.
The reason the city is getting involved is because members of the council say it will be an added attraction to the downtown community. The depot already houses the nonprofit Cheyenne Depot Museum, and Mayor Patrick Collins has said he's working with Union Pacific officials on the possibility of connecting the depot with the nearby roundhouse, which currently houses UP's small fleet of operational, historic steam engines.
Domenic Bravo, president and CEO of Visit Cheyenne, said he agrees with the optimism that this will be a major attraction for the city. It is one of the reasons it was a goal included in the tourism master plan developed by Visit Cheyenne and the Downtown Development Authority.
He is hopeful construction will start as soon as next summer.
"I think the stars aligned," he said.
Bravo is also excited by how the visitor center can factor into other parts of the community, and help boost the drive to bring additional businesses to Cheyenne. He said he sees community development through a holistic approach and believes more than one party should benefit from each project.
Visit Cheyenne plans to utilize local amenities by connecting the center to the Greater Cheyenne Greenway, or finding a better way to showcase the Big Boy Steam Engine in Holliday Park. Bravo said they're looking at all options for making Cheyenne a year-round tourist destination.
Council member Richard Johnson was one of many city officials who spoke in support of the partnership. He said he was skeptical at first, but impressed after seeing how the railroad visitor center would grow local tourism.
"This is way outside of the box thinking," he said. "And so, I do want to give a lot of credit to the people that put this together."
Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's education reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25.
