AdAmAn Alley is a placemaking initiative celebrating 100 years of the AdAmAn Club’s unique role in the history of the Pikes Peak region through the transformation of one block in the heart of Downtown Colorado Springs. Since 1922, members of the AdAmAn Club, a nonprofit organization, ascend Pikes Peak each Dec. 30–31, igniting a glorious fireworks display atop the peak at midnight on New Year’s Eve for all to enjoy for miles around.
Members of the AdAmAn Club approached the Downtown Partnership in 2020, desiring to undertake a public project in recognition of their upcoming 100th anniversary in December 2022. Downtown Partnership and its charitable nonprofit arm, Downtown Ventures, are recognized locally and statewide for their award-winning Art on the Streets public art program and other initiatives that leverage art to create inviting public spaces.
In discussion with property owners, the opportunity to activate an alley in the heart of Downtown took hold and grew to the placemaking project now known as AdAmAn Alley. With a direct view of Pikes Peak to the west, the alley is bounded by Nevada Avenue to the east, Tejon Street to the west, Pikes Peak Avenue to the north and Colorado Avenue to the south. Improvements to Downtown alleyways are a specific tactic cited in the Experience Downtown Master Plan.
Initial discussions started in mid-2020 among club members, Partnership staff, and some property owners on the block.
From the project’s inception, a small project team met monthly, along with ad hoc sub-committees as needed. Partnership staff alone contributed over 1,000 hours as project managers.
Construction began in June 2022 with complete closure of the alley until November 2022.
The opening celebration will be held on November 29, 2022.
Utilities upgrades
Trash consolidation
Pedestrian enhancements:
- Textured pavement
- Drainage upgrades
- Traffic pattern changes
Creative placemaking elements:
- Placename arch
- Murals throughout the alley
- Projection mapping
- LED fireworks display
- Parklet in southern leg of the alley with seating and sculpture garden
Portions of the utilities infrastructure in the alley dated back more than 100 years. Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) replaced equipment including pipelines, wires, cables, and utility vaults. CSU used a 3D scanning technology to locate and identify all existing utilities (in use and abandoned) prior to excavating.
During construction, upgrades included:
- 475 feet of new water main to replace a heavily corroded cast iron pipe that was installed in 1911 to increase flow and pressure.
- 500 feet of clay wastewater pipe rehabilitation installed in 1888.
- 700 feet of new plastic gas main including a new two-way feed to reduce the probability of outages in the area.
- New service lines and risers were upgraded to current standards.
- Three new electric circuits and 5,400 feet of new electric cable.
- 225 feet of telecommunications conduit and three fiber optic vaults.
- 365 feet of plastic stormwater pipe and new catch basins.
- Concrete repaving and grade changes to eliminate standing water and ice accumulation.
Total project cost is estimated over $3 million. Most of that is essential upgrades to aging utilities and subsequent paving. The Colorado Springs Utilities and City of Colorado Springs costs were over $2.3 million. The AdAmAn Club raised over $650,000 in private funding for the aesthetic and artistic enhancements.
The Downtown Development Authority has taken on ownership and maintenance of the murals, projection mapping equipment, and LED display as part of the Experience Downtown alley activation plan.
There are nine property owners in the alley with over 20 tenants.
Prior to the project, there were over 20 dumpsters lining most of the walls in the alley, with 11 separate contracts for service among a handful of different providers. Through a single contract with GFL, all property owners are now provided trash and recycling through two compactors. Furthermore, six separate containers for oil recycling were consolidated into a single contract and location.
The LED display operates Thursdays through Sundays a little after dusk for four hours. The projection mapping operates daily along the same timeframe. Both change seasonally.
The southern leg of the alley is available for vehicular access 24/7 due to the private parking garage in the center of the alley. New bollards are placed at the eastern and western entrances. The Partnership worked with property owners and businesses to arrange for large deliveries and waste collection to occur outside of high pedestrian traffic hours or through use of the southern leg.
Businesses in the alley can make use of the public space by acquiring a revocable right of way or event permit from the city. Visit the city special event website HERE.