ALAMOSA — What should become of the old Rio Grande Motorway building near the train depot in downtown Alamosa?

A group of interested residents gathered Wednesday for a brainstorming session and tour of the building, which is vacant except for some items stored there.

Julie Mordecai invited interested members of the community to the informal meeting on Wednesday to see if there might be some ideas that could develop into proposals for the Alamosa County Marketing District Board to consider.

The marketing board issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) from those who might have an interest in the building, and those proposals may be submitted until September 30. See www.alamosa.org/images/alamosa/alamosa/alamosa/motorwayRFP.pdf

Mordecai said she was not ready to move forward with anything herself but was concerned that at least as of last week there were no proposals submitted for the building. She said she wanted to see what ideas could be generated. She said anyone could submit a proposal, and it could be a private business, a nonprofit group or some mixture of private/public partnership.

“It’s an empty shell,” Mordecai said. “A lot of art centers start that way.”

“However it gets developed, it needs to be available for year-round use,” said Marty Jones, board president of ALMA (Alamosa Live Music Association.) He said the building would have to have heat, water, restrooms and other amenities.

San Luis Valley Small Business Development Center Director Thomas Monaco said the building would have to be brought up to code, which could be expensive. There are some issues with the building, he said, but he believed it could become a focus for downtown development and tourism. If a nonprofit was interested in the space, it could apply for grant money, he suggested.

Monaco said that quality of life is almost more important to millennials than their paychecks, and anything that would enhance the quality of life here would help attract that age group to the local work force. “To get them to come here you have to have amenities, things for kids to do, social interaction … craft beer, biking, trails …”

San Luis Valley Great Outdoors Community Engagement Coordinator Patrick Ortiz added that a sense of place is important, and economic development could center on that. He referred to a bakery café in San Francisco where diners get to watch how their bread is produced before they eat it. He said that is important for many people now to see the production process for the items they are buying and consuming.

The group talked about the need for more event space. Mordecai said in a few years there will be space for events hosting 350-400 people at the Rio Grande Farm Park, but the existing event space is limited in Alamosa.

“We need to build inventory,” she said.

If the Motorway became an event center, parking would be an issue, she added.

The marketing district is interested in proposals for uses that would fit in with the adjacent train depot and chamber/economic development offices.

Some of the challenges for anyone interested in developing the building are costs to bring it up to code and parking, which is limited in that area along Sixth Street.

Some of the ideas floated on Wednesday included:

• Artist studio with each participating artist situated by a window and the interior space used for events such as concerts

• Artist space modeled after an art center in Denver where the artists are given free space for a couple of years to get them started, with a gallery and event space in the middle that could be used for art education and an art library

• Farmers’ market, which will need to relocate in the future, and the Motorway building would enable the market to extend its season in a covered, consistent space, but there would be some disadvantages such as visibility, space for large vendors with trailers and chili roasters, as well as limited parking and currently no amenities like bathrooms

• Light manufacturing

• Artisanal, creative industries where customers can see the products being made and sold

• Small businesses

• Vodka distillery

• San Luis Valley Community Resource Center, a center for nonprofit groups that could include office space, training rooms and multipurpose space

• Other nonprofit use

• Multipurpose use and co-work space, such as a combination of arts and small manufacturing

• A market area similar to the Santa Fe rail yard pavilion, which provides space for indoor markets as well as outdoor space

• Indoor and outdoor space that could be rented for special events

• Combination of for profit and nonprofit tenants who could bring in jobs, taxes and other revenues

• A use that would tie Sixth Street to Main Street and would be an anchor for Sixth Street

• Cultural center

The marketing board will entertain proposals that request the building as a donation as well as those willing to purchase it. The main consideration will be the best use for the community and tourism specifically. High priority considerations are: public use; financial offer, business plan and bondability; compatibility to the depot and promotion of a sense of place/community in terms of the depot campus; potential to attract visitors and tourists to Alamosa; and whether the building will be redeveloped, demolished or replaced.

Other priority considerations, but not as high on the marketing board’s list, are: getting the property on the tax rolls; sales tax generation; job creation and payroll; reversion to the district if the proposal fails; feasibility of the proposal; timeline; use of local contractors; visual design; and parking design.

Caption: Area residents check out the interior of the Rio Grande Motorway building on Wednesday after discussing uses for the space./Courier photo by Ruth Heide