Dear Action Line: Recently I came up with an excellent idea, but don’t know who to tell it to, so have opted for Action Line as an all-knowing disseminator of information. Before the pandemic, several Herald articles featured ideas for a Durango Convention Center, all of which involved a new, very expensive big building and a multistory parking garage taking up space in the railroad’s parking lot. The J.C. Penney site at the Durango Mall has been sitting vacant for – how long? without any apparent signs of a new dweller. It’s perfectly suitable size-wise for regional conventions. Convert the rear into a 200-seat auditorium, add space from adjacent vacant stores as needed. Plenty of parking, and how many hotels/inns have been built in the last five years along the U.S. Highway 550/160 strip between Home Depot and the Centennial Center? – J. Fred Muggs
Dear J. Fred: Spooky timing on this question, or at least the timing of Action Line’s response, because there is now a dweller at the old and beloved J.C. Penney. It’s Spirit Halloween, a seasonal shop that has sprung from the crypt of moribund stores. It rose from the dead last year as well.
Alas, Halloween will soon be gone, and then what? Christmas is still … Heck, look at that: Christmas is less than two months away by then. After that is Snowdown, then, well, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July fireworks. … Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Just completely change out your merchandise about six to eight times a year, and you’ve got yourself a year-round seasonal store!
Some astute business person is going to say that is not feasible.
Well then, party poopers, how about that convention, or conference, center idea for the former J.C. Penney, which exited Durango in 2020 when the department store fell on rough financial times nationwide?
Action Line (now to be addressed as “The Great All-Knowing Disseminator”) contacted Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District, for a measured response.
“I say we bring back the bowling alley to the mall,” Walsworth said.
Yes, he really said that. He was only half joking. Many of us would love to see the return of strikes, spares and smelly shoes to the Durango Mall after, what, 20 years? Kmart probably isn’t coming back, or the Waldenbooks, or the video/music store, or the (fill in your old favorite here). Can we at least roll back bowling?
A bit more seriously, it has also been suggested to Action Line that indoor pickleball courts might be a good fit here. Other pickleball courts have been built in abandoned malls. Tempe, Arizona, has a Picklemall. Cute.
Anyway, why not a convention center?
Walsworth started his answer with a bit of history:
“The Durango Business Improvement District (BID) was formed in 1997 for the sole purpose of exploring how to bring a conference center to Durango, so we have thought about this for close to 30 years. J.C. Penney is not large enough on its own; more space would be needed.
“The sweet spot for conference centers is to be able to host up to 400 people as that opens you up to 75% of the conference market. A standalone conference center will lose money and require an annual operating subsidy. Also, it is more affordable to build something like this from a flat piece of ground as opposed to updating an existing building.
“Ideally a conference center would be more centrally located where there are more hotel options and tons of things to do, places to eat, and opportunities to shop.”
Walsworth said that BID and a team of local experts worked to plan a downtown conference center that would serve multiple uses, thus eliminating the need for annual operating subsidies. This plan even included a parking structure – something else the community often clamors for.
“We have tried pitching this to community leaders, but there is not enough current interest to move it forward,” Walsworth concluded.
“Maybe someday …”
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. If you’re reading this past 6:43 a.m. MDT on Sunday the 22nd, then congratulations. You’ve made it to the half of the year when night is longer than day. At the Earth’s extremes, the north pole is now dark, the south pole is lit. In other words, fall has fallen on us.
