Terminal project is valley’s latest game-changer

How many “game-changers” can one community have? For years, the answer around here was “not nearly enough.” But lately, they seem to be coming in droves.

In Grand Junction, a revitalized riverfront — the amphitheater and Las Colonias and Dos Rio developments — certainly qualifies as a game-changer.

In the realm of the theoretical, becoming a federally designated “tech hub” would be the biggest game-changer this area has ever seen because of the massive economic impact it could wield.

A new I-70 interchange at 29 Road would be transformational. The soon-to-be-built community and recreation center should be, too.

Downtown Grand Junction, which has methodically improved since The Avalon makeover, is grinding toward yet another game-changer — one that will transform the downtown skyline and give the city a cosmopolitan dimension uncommon on the Western Slope.

With every update, optimism grows about The Terminal project, the proposed 100,000-square-foot mixed-income and mixed-use complex that would house art galleries, art studios, “high craftsmanship” food and beverage purveyors, and around 90-100 residential units at 230 S. Fifth St., replacing the abandoned former Greyhound bus station.

When Greyhound left the station in February 2021, the Grand Junction Downtown Development Authority purchased the property for $700,000 with no firm idea of what do with it.

But part of the DDA’s mission is to take blighted properties and redevelop them. And this one had high-reward potential given its proximity to the heart of Grand Junction.

It also became apparent early that whoever redeveloped the property had a chance to create a memorable, eye-catching gateway into the downtown area.

The DDA chose Adam Roy with Aspen-based Headwaters Housing Partners as the Terminal project developer.

With Roy’s involvement — as well as the Colorado Office of Economic Development’s Colorado Creative Industries — a key component of the project taking shape is creating a place for artists to affordably live and work. Colorado Creative Industries has an initiative called Space to Create that supports these kinds of projects to advance the creative sector in the state.

As the Sentinel’s Nathan Deal reported, The Terminal will “probably” stand six stories tall with a large, double-height main level at its base “to express the arts component of the ground floors to the public.”

Roy and the DDA plan on the property including first-of-their-kind food and beverage concepts, gallery spaces and a significant arts facility with studio spaces, shared work spaces and classrooms.

Roy and the DDA will learn at some point this fall whether the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) will approve an application for a $3.2 million Colorado Community Revitalization Grant — a “huge piece” of making the project viable, according to the DDA’s executive director, Brandon Stam.

Fingers crossed that this project can come to fruition. It won’t just help create a thriving arts scene. It will bring people who want to live downtown and experience an urban vibe, which would be a huge shot in the arm for downtown businesses.