A plan is being discussed to renovate and upgrade a troubled shopping center in Craig, Colorado.
The Centennial Mall, located at 1111 W. Victory Way, about 1 mile to the west of downtown Craig, was built in 1979 and for decades has housed a variety of retail operations inside a nearly 86,000 square foot structure.
The mall, however, has seen an ongoing decline in tenants, with half of the space, at times, vacant.
Now a local businessman and former member of the Moffat County Commission has announced plans to repurpose the facility as an outdoor supply source.
What would be called the Yampa Valley Adventure Center would see the business model of the mall changed, offering customers a variety of hunting and fishing supplies and gear, among other things.
Altogether, according go the vision, there would be nearly two dozen retail spaces in what is being described as an “Eco Nature Mall.”
According to the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper, the revamped and repurposed center would also include “in-building activities that can’t be found anywhere nearby, like an indoor archery and shooting range, and an interactive great outdoors museum.”
It is thought that it will cost around $5.7 million to repurpose the Centennial Mall, funding that might come through the use of tax increment financing.
That financing might be available via the Craig Urban Renewal Authority, which is currently in the development stage.
According to city documents, that Authority is being tasked with providing “both financial assistance and improvements in partnership with property owners” in order to improve and upgrade certain properties in the city.
A timetable for when work repurposing the Centennial Mall may begin has not yet been announced.
By Garry Boulard
