Page 38 - AreaNewsletters "April 2020" issue

Wade’s
My goal in this monthly column is to inform our readers about current and planned changes going on around the Town of Castle Rock without making judgments or editorial comments.
Wade A. Frary
What’sGoingOn
Ithink that most if not all of us might agree that Castle Rock and Douglas County is in a transitional stage and change is inevitable. This month’s article focuses on what’s changing within our local area. Perhaps in the next edition I will write about what isn’t changing and what we can count on to anchor our community and remain familiar. Just a few statistics to demonstrate the change happening within Douglas County and Castle Rock:
(I’ve published this once before)
• Douglas County grew 191 percent between 1990 and 2000 making it the fastest growing county in the U.S. in the decade.
A quote from Socrates:
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on ghting the old, but building the new.”
• It grew another 63 percent from 2000 to 2007, ranking 11th nationally.
• Douglas County is rated as the ninth highest-income counties by median household income.
• Castle Rock’s population changed by 19.5 percent from 2010 to 2016 and another 5.1 percent from 2016 to 2017.
• Castle Rock is one of the 7 fastest growing cities in America, according to recent U.S. Census Data (May 2017).
• Withanexpectedannualgrowthrateofabout6percentperyear,itisestimatedthattheTownpopulationwillreach 100,000 by 2060.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 American Communities Survey)
The Gateway Project for The Town Of Castle Rock:
Town o cials, city planners and economic development council for Castle Rock is in the early planning stages to change to look and feel as you enter the main street (Wilcox) from the South. This concept will be known as the “Gateway Project” once it gains some momentum and funding. The idea is to have a more welcoming and aesthetically pleasing entrance to our downtown area. Some ideas being considered include but are not limited to:
• A visitor or welcome information center
• New artwork at the gateway/entrance to town at Wilcox and Wolfensberger
• Construction of some type of arch or welcoming sign similar to the one’s found in Golden, Frisco or Georgetown
• Encourage current businesses to take advantage of building façade grant money to improve and update the front of their places of business
• Find ways to enhance the look of Castle Rock while maintaining the historical architecture of old town
April 2020 • Castle Rock “AreaNewsletters” 38
D E V E L O P ME N T S