Cities balance character, commerce

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- Visitors who stroll down quaint Main Street here often say how much the city reminds them of the small towns they grew up in: Old store facades, railroad tracks through the heart of downtown, free parking everywhere.

On Brighton's east side, visitors at the new Prairie Center could be in Anywhere, USA: Super Target, Kohl's, Home Depot and other big-box retailers in a gleaming shopping center on 2,000 acres of ex-farmland near a freeway ramp.

They're the two faces of Brighton, a city in the path of growth spreading between Denver and Denver International Airport.

For many little cities that want to grow but not lose their small-town feel, creating an environment where the old and the new can thrive is a challenge. How do they prosper and expand their economies yet preserve their historic character and charm?

Keeping the two sides distinct, yet connected, has been Brighton's goal for years. The city created a "smart growth" plan and launched a downtown revitalization campaign. It set design standards, strengthened environmental initiatives, hired a top economic development director and channeled commercial expansion to specific neighborhoods. "We didn't want to be known as a suburb," Mayor Jan Pawlowski says. "We like the small-town atmosphere."

Healthy signs of growth

When the Gadberry Group, a technology consulting firm that identifies growing markets for its clients, compiled its 2007 list of "boomtowns," even its executives were puzzled by the results: Brighton; Frisco, Texas; Goodyear, Ariz.; Plainfield, Ill.; North Port, Fla.; Lawrenceville, Ga.; and Wentzville, Mo.

Chief operating officer Larry Martin says, "I was surprised that all were suburban."

What some are doing:

•Plainfield, Will County's oldest community, is less than 40 miles southwest of Chicago. The village had about 4,500 people on 5.6 square miles in 1990. By 2007, it had 37,000 people and 23.9 square miles through annexation.

The area is surrounded by large retailers, but Plainfield wants its downtown to remain the core. Streets have been ripped up to upgrade sewer and water lines and widen sidewalks. There are proposals for condominiums above offices and stores, sidewalk cafes, a commuter line with connections to Chicago and a riverwalk project along the DuPage River.

•Frisco predicted in 1991 that the city's population would hit 26,000 in 2020. It reached that level in 1998 as the Dallas metropolitan area stretched north. Building permits show it has hit 100,000.

City officials embraced growth, planning director John Lettelleir says. Frisco pushed to preserve open space and hang on to its cowboy heritage. Its Central Park celebrates cattle drives along the Shawnee Trail. A downtown plan sets architectural standards and zoning to attract businesses and residents.

•Wentzville, about 40 minutes west of St. Louis' Gateway Arch, had the five-lane Wentzville Parkway built 10 years ago through cornfields. Today, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, Home Depot and others line the corridor. A General Motors truck assembly plant opened. The population grew from about 5,000 in 1990 to more than 20,000 today.

"People come to Wentzville because it's the edge of civilization," says Bob Swank, director of economic development. "We're about the fringe of how far people are willing to move out."

The city requires that houses be at least 1,200 square feet and have a two-car garage. Retailers must have masonry facades in earth tones (the White Castle isn't white but off-white).

Capitalizing on location

Brighton, about 25 miles north of Denver, had been stagnant for decades while the metro area boomed in every other direction. Controversy raged in the early 1990s over whether a huge airport should be built on the area's northeastern fringe. Pawlowski strongly supported it from the start. The airport opened in 1995, 15 minutes away.

By then, Brighton had a dual vision. The first was to capitalize on its prime location at the heart of three major freeways and two rail lines by becoming the regional retail center for communities even farther away from Denver. The second was to beautify downtown.

The population has grown 44% to 30,000 since 2000. Household income has risen about 40% in the past five years to $65,000. Brighton has the fastest-growing school district in the state. A turning point was the opening of E-470, a toll road that connected Brighton and major job centers in the metro area and created a direct route to the airport.

St. Louis-based THF Realty, developer of the Prairie Center's regional shopping area that eventually will include homes, hotels and a medical office campus, picked Brighton for its location. THF also is developing a center in Wentzville.

"We target smaller communities that are really high-growth," project manager Jim Lewis says. "Brighton is just a little gem."

Assistant City Manager Manuel Esquibel wants to make downtown the city's entertainment and cultural hub.

When it came time to decide where to build a public library, downtown landed the plum.

In 2005, local developer Craig Carlson built the Pavilions Shopping Center downtown to bring stores and a 12-screen movieplex to a city that last had a theater in the 1970s.

A senior housing complex was built next door. The 1920 armory is being converted into a performing arts center. An old depot will become a restaurant and a box car a bar. An old hospital will be the Lifelong Learning Center, another campus for a local university. The new Platte Valley Medical Center is a $138 million campus with granite floors and a fireplace in the lobby.

Abundant water in the area and the prospect of a transit line through Brighton promise more growth.

"I don't think we're quite visible yet," Carlson says. "It really allows us to catch our breath."