The Learning Council Is A Community Revitalization Grant Recipient

The  Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced today that community revitalization projects in Paonia, Silverthorne, Grand Lake, and Denver, Colorado have been selected to receive  Community Revitalization Grants  (CRG).

Among the recipients are Su Teatro, a Santa Fe Arts District institution that celebrates the cultural arts, heritage, and traditions of the Chicano/Latino community, and VFW Post 1. The first and oldest Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in existence, VFW Post 1 is one of the largest and most active veterans organizations in the United States.

“The Community Revitalization Grant program is about so much more than preservation. It helps infuse new life into celebrated community institutions across Colorado, elevating the creative industries and supporting each community’s unique economic development goals,” said Program Manager Sarah Harrison. “By combining elements like affordable housing, tourism, retail, and community spaces, the five projects receiving these Community Revitalization Grants demonstrate how mixed-use public funding contributes to the creation of a Colorado economy that works for everyone.”

The CRG program is intended to help revitalize community spaces in creative districts, historic districts, main streets and neighborhood commercial centers across Colorado through mixed use development. To date, it has funded 53 projects in 29 counties. The grant application window has closed, and the remaining awards are expected to be announced early 2023.

The Learning Council – $650,000

The Learning Council (TLC) is completing an artistic, educational center in the heart of rural Paonia, Colorado. The project provides job opportunities for local youth and will create a community center in downtown Paonia. The space will include a co-working space for collaborating nonprofits, commercial kitchen to support food equity projects, an ice cream parlor that will be a teen-run business, a portal to TLC’s educational, cultural, and advocacy work, and a multi-use indoor/outdoor gathering space for community events. The nonprofits who will work out of the building include Arts for All, agricultural classes, TLC Kitchen, Health and Vitality Council, Delta County Coalition for Advocating Radically Equitable Spaces, and the Paonia Bike Co-Op. The Hearth Community Center (Hearth) will revitalize both the downtown and create a sense of community for the Town’s residents.

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