ߣÏÈÉú

Since the fire station at 351 Benchmark Rd. in Avon was vacated by the Eagle River Fire Protection District in 2017, the town has been searching for a new use for the site.

The 15,000-square-foot fire station’s central location near Harry A. Nottingham Park and Avon Station and its views of Beaver Creek ߣÏÈÉú Resort make it optimal for any use.

In 2018, the fire station was recommended for demolition, but the Town ߣÏÈÉú held off from the $600,000 effort. In recent years, proposed uses for the fire station site have included a skate park, transit employee housing, general workforce housing, a café and bar, and more.

---

---

During the Tuesday, Oct. 8, Avon Town ߣÏÈÉú meeting, Danita Dempsey, Avon’s Culture, Arts and Special Events Manager, proposed using the fire station space as a community culture and arts center.

CASE committee makes the case for an arts and culture center

The concepts Dempsey presented were spearheaded by the town’s Culture, Arts and Special Events citizen committee, and based on visits to similar culture centers in Silverthorne and Grand Lake and the Colorado Creative Industries summits in Pueblo and Crested Butte.

---

---

During the town’s surveying process for La Zona, the revitalization effort for the town core, in 2023, Avon leadership and staff heard from the community that an art space was a priority, Dempsey said. The town has been placing a greater emphasis on the arts with the Avon Arts Celebration, Art Around Avon initiatives and the CASE committee. Avon further supported a move toward more arts-focused content in the town by approving moving the Vail Valley Art Guild headquarters to Avon in January.

In creating the center, Dempsey said, she will try to cultivate a space that is “authentic to Avon” and community-serving, with programming that resonates with Avon locals. The outreach effort will include bilingual communication to engage all of Avon’s population.

In other towns, this has included classes and spaces for activities like ceramics, woodworking, art therapy, youth programs and more, but it may look different in Avon. Some potential options include art exhibitions, an art gallery, a maker space and a coffee shop at the south bay, where it would be easy to open the doors and connect to the outside space.

“Through speaking with community members, I have found that there are more artists in this community than we realize. Artists who do their art for pleasure, but are looking for opportunities to bring their work to the forefront,” said Justin Chesney, the CASE committee chair. “In a valley full of sports-minded activities — pickleball, skateboarding, rock climbing, rec centers and so on — I feel it is time to give a home to the creatives in our community.”

Thomas Walsh, another CASE committee member who grew up in the area and remembers visiting the fire station when it was active, promoted the use of the space as a center for all types of art, including performing arts.

“Indoor performing arts space is lacking in Eagle County. It is nonexistent in Avon,” he said. Walsh also labeled the space “Station 351,” a moniker that stuck throughout the rest of the meeting.

Several members of the CASE committee mentioned the value of a community gathering space. Pedro Campos called it a “multi-generational space,” in the center of town, and Calyn Rieger spoke about the opportunity to offer a substance-free space for young people to gather at night.

Vail Valley Art Guild leadership spoke in public comment in support of this use of the fire station.

“I really believe that it’s going to transform the town of Avon, and maybe even the whole county,” said Lynn Feiger, founding member of the Vail Valley Art Guild. “I think Avon can become a destination art place.”

Feiger, who said she has been connected to Eagle County for 40 years, said the space would be a way to bring in artists to instruct art classes. In the 1980s, Vail was known as an art destination in the summer, and artists came from all over the world, Feiger said.  “I think Avon can capture that all back, and I think the fire station is the perfect place to do it,” she said.

Financing the space will be a challenge

While all seven members of Town ߣÏÈÉú voiced support for the concept of the community arts space, they also expressed hesitation about how the project would be funded. According to Town Manager Eric Heil’s projections, a new building might cost $9 to $12 million to construct, a number that far exceeds the Culture, Arts and Special Events already-allocated yearly budget of $1 million.

“This building, this space, this opportunity, those views, our park, I think it’s perfect,” said ߣÏÈÉú member Lindsay Hardy. “Anyone who has a lot of money, we would love those donations to get this thing really rolling …This is a great opportunity for someone to support our local culture, arts and special events in this facility.”

 “I’m a million percent in favor of it …(but) did we address if this was even feasible first?” asked ߣÏÈÉú member R.J. Andrade. “This building has a lot of needs, as we know, and I don’t want to have this whole discussion, with all of these brilliant ideas…and then three months down the road, here’s the ticket, ‘oh no, we can’t do that.'”

Andrade said he thought the town should start with a feasibility study.

“You’re absolutely right,” Heil said. He estimated the cost of an initial assessment by an architect at around $25,000 to $30,000, with the cost increasing if the town wants to see variations on the design.

By Heil’s estimates, demolishing the building alone could cost upwards of $700,000. The $9 to $12 million price tag, “is many years off in affording” for the town, barring private support, Heil said. While remodeling the existing structure is a possibility, “it’s an old building,” and would require so many interventions that even a remodel might become prohibitively expensive.

Making the building habitable as a residential space would drive the costs even higher, Heil said.

While the town has so far only taken a first look at its 2025 budget, flat revenues are forecasted for the next year.

“I think we all know that it’s belt-tightening year, and it’s not a visioning year, and I wish it could be a visioning year, especially for this compelling purpose,” said ߣÏÈÉú member Tamra Underwood.

The town is applying for a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and will hear back around April. If received, the town plans to provide an in-kind match. These dollars could fund the early planning stages of the center.

ߣÏÈÉú member Chico Thuon supported the project and agreed that it would need to be privately funded and undergo a full renovation. “When you look at a building and you say, ‘Wow, that’s a really great structure,’ I’m not sure if that’s that building. It’s falling into disrepair even further, and $2 million won’t bring it back … we couldn’t even build a small bathroom for $5 million,” he said. 

Mayor Amy Phillips said she supported the space becoming an art-influenced community center.

“I do think that that is one of the most beautiful views and most valuable pieces of land, and I think it deserves something far more impressive than an old fire station,” Phillips said.

Following discussion, the council elected to move forward with applying for the National Endowment for the Arts grant, but to hold off on spending funds on the fire station until after the town has gone through its annual budget review process. The topic will return to the council in 2025.