The 40 West Arts District showcases what happens when vision,
investment, and community and civic leadership converge. Just over
three years ago, the idea of an arts district was a fledgling thought
suggested during a community planning meeting for the Lamar Street
Station Area Plan as a way to revitalize an older, eclectic neighborhood
and commercial corridor.
Because of the strong partnership between the Two Creeks neighborhood,
Metro West Housing Solutions (formerly Lakewood Housing Authority), the
Lakewood – West Colfax Business Improvement District, the West Colfax
Community Association, the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, and
the City of Lakewood, the vision became reality. The 40 West Arts
District formed as a non-profit and was named an Emerging Creative
District by the State of Colorado. The City of Lakewood received a 2012
Gold DRCOG Local Government Award for the 40 West Arts District and
related collaborative planning efforts.
Since forming, the 40 West Arts District has held a number of highly
successful events including INSPIRE! Lakewood’s Arts Week, The 40 West
Arts RIOT, the Arts Along Colfax Program, and the 40 West Arts Fall
Festival.
In addition, several projects and investments have been
completed, are underway, or are scheduled for the near future to
capitalize on light rail, support affordable housing, promote economic
health, and support existing neighborhoods. The projects further
implement Metro Vision 2035 by encouraging infill and redevelopment and
supporting compact development and a mix of uses that support live, work
and play.
The following are just a few examples of the ongoing investments and
achievements in the 40 West Arts District neighborhood:
• A 160-unit mixed-income housing project is being constructed by Metro
West Housing Solutions, just steps from the Lamar Street station.
• New mixed-use zoning has been adopted to promote high-density
residential, retail, live/work units, and art studios.
• The 40 West Arts District Urban Design and Mobility Concepts Plan was
adopted as an amendment to the Lakewood Comprehensive Plan to further
promote and enhance the Lamar Street landscape experience and to
redefine the West Colfax Avenue corridor.
• Funding has been secured, and plans are underway, to construct a
traffic-calming roundabout in the intersection of West 14th Ave. and
Lamar Street and to construct an eight-foot sidewalk from Lamar Station
to West 14th Ave. The sidewalk will include an enhanced amenity zone to
implement the vision of the Lamar Street Station Area Plan and the 40
West Urban Design and Mobility Plan.
• A Sustainable Neighborhood Assessment grant, funded through the
Environmental Protection Agency, was received, which provided
recommendations for sustainable re-development in the 40 West Arts
District neighborhood.
The 40 West Arts District encompasses the area within approximately ½
mile of the Lamar Street Station, on the W Rail Line, opening in April
2013. It includes the Two Creeks neighborhood, the commercial corridor
of West Colfax Avenue, and the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.
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The city of Lakewood is a suburb of Denver, Colorado. There was never a traditional downtown in the city, but there was a central business area along Colfax Avenue and it became home to the
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City of Lakewood