Starting in March, downtown Colorado Springs will see major changes. 

The city is embarking on a multimillion dollar project to widen and improve two blocks of Tejon Street. The first phase will impact South Tejon from Colorado to Pikes Peak avenues, a section of downtown that holds many of the area’s restaurants including Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, Red Gravy and Urban Egg. 

“We want to turn this block into something even more special than it is,” said Rich Mulledy, the city’s public works director.  

The first phase is expected to start March 24 and end in late June. 

Stretch of Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs to get multimillion-dollar makeover

The project will reconfigure both pedestrian and vehicle traffic through the downtown corridor by removing the center lane and expanding both sidewalks. Delivery trucks, now often parked in the center lane, will shift to designated zones.

The expanded, 10-foot sidewalk will increase accessibility and provide space for outdoor dining areas, said Mulledy. 

“We want to make that a more inclusive area that’s a better experience for people to come down and enjoy,” he said. 

The first phase of construction in March will narrow Tejon to a one-way street to allow pedestrian access to businesses during construction. The construction phase will also block on-street parking. 

In early phases of the plan, some business owners were concerned about Tejon Street losing its angled street parking spaces in favor of parallel parking. The latest and final plan includes retaining most of the angled spots. Frank O’Donnell, owner of the locations of several Tejon Street businesses, said the compromise put the project in a more favorable light. 

“Now that it’s been modified to keep the angled parking, I think it has a lot of merit,” he said. 

Mulledy said the city’s three parking garages would take up the slack for parking, with $1 per-hour rates in the Cascade, Bijou and the City Administration Building garages. Businesses along the blocked street will also receive some parking vouchers, said Mulledy. 

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Eric Brenner, owner and executive chef of Red Gravy, said he had been working with the city to ensure customer access to his restaurant. He said he encouraged use of downtown’s parking garages and would promote discounted parking and deliveries. 

“I know that not only will we survive, but we’ll thrive,” he said. “At least I know I will, and I hope everyone else will as well.” 

The second phase of the project, Tejon from Pikes Peak Avenue to Kiowa Street, is planned to start late summer and wrap up by the end of September. Part of the project includes changes at the “busy corner” of Tejon and Pikes Peak Avenue, a historic hub for downtown. 

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Chelsea Gondeck, planning and mobility director for Downtown Partnership’s Downtown Development Authority, said the improvements were designed to create “a plaza feel” with the possibility for social gatherings at the historic street corner. 

She said Tejon was a “signature street.” 

The project is funded through a $1.6 million grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation matched with $400,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The rest is coming from the city’s parking enterprise, city traffic and the Downtown Development Authority. A spokesperson for the city previously told The Gazette that the full cost of the project would be about $6 million to $8 million. 

The city is hosting an open house for the project on 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Feb. 25, at the City Administration Building, room 102. 

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