When you are driving downtown on Central you will come across an epic intersection and a historic one.
It features at one corner the Historic Plains Hotel, the first hotel to feature phones in each room. It was a modern, innovative and social place during its hey-day. Then across the street used to be a furniture store called “The Grier Furniture” and it has since been purchased and houses the Array School of Technology & Design. Among these great pieces of real estate is a gem, an untapped potential that Robert Slaughter plans to unveil. The Bell Building, at 1605 Central Avenue, has been an integral part of the corridor – for 107 years to be exact!
In 2014, a young professional group analyzed the building determining it would be a prime location for apartments and residential in a mixed-use format. The feasibility was promising to include a full renovation and enough money to handle the rehabilitation needs of the property which has sat abandoned for several decades. In its active life, the last occupant of the Bell Building a car dealership and before that had a host of offices. In September 2019, Slaughter shared the project will be completed in mid-2020 an article by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle stated. Currently, the project seems to be on track to meet this estimated timeframe.
The project has been made possible by a variety of program funding. The EPA granted Federal Environmental Cleanup Funds to help with a number of the upfront costs because of compounding damage to the building. Additionally, a volume of investors has placed their funds into the project to make the vision a sincere reality.
It is important to our downtown to be the “home” of residents and not just businesses. By having residents in the area they are frequent customers of the nearby businesses, and they circulate their earnings in a different way than visitors. The apartments being constructed in the Bell Building will be a great addition to the area and hopefully can be an example for other developers of how they too can offer living space in downtown. Are you someone who would like to learn more about our downtown and local projects? Give us a call at RE/MAX Capitol Properties. We would love to visit with you (307) 635-0303.
