Nonprofit seeks ideas for redeveloping swath of land along tracks
HELPER—Would you like to see a pedestrian corridor? A boardwalk? A refashioned entrance to Downtown?
The public is invited to a community input and visioning session in Helper, hosted by the nonprofit group the Helper Project on Sept. 7.
The gathering will take place from 4-7 p.m. behind the buildings that line the east side of Main Street, starting at the train depot and stretching to the community park.
Kiosks and information booths will line the area, taking visitors down what could someday be a renovated portion the city.
Anne Jespersen, who leads the Helper Project, said the event is being managed by Downtown Redevelopment, a land use firm that specializes in remaking municipal downtown areas.
“What we are trying to do is just dream here, dream about what the possibilities might be if we repurpose that land,” Jespersen said.
The Helper Project, among numerous groups, has been working to create attractions to entice more visitors and improve the overall experience of living and doing business in Helper.
The nonprofit, after sending requests for proposal, hired Downtown Redevelopment, a Park City firm, to create a master plan document for the city’s downtown area. A corridor concept and other ideas for the area that stretches from the train depot to the Helper Library, a swath of land that hugs the train tracks, are part of the firm’s first study.
“Some of the possibilities are to do a boardwalk, where there’s seating and a park that would maybe have a restored locomotive, and proper fencing to prevent people from getting on the tracks,” Jespersen said. “We would create a safety corridor, increase overnight parking for the station and for the businesses that have residence and business entrances on that side.”
Jespersen said the train depot, which services passengers going east and west, is an ideal spot to redevelop.
“What we have is an automatic captured audience with the Amtrak station here,” she said.
Besides attending the visioning session, residents and visitors are also being asked to take survey and share what they would like to see that land used for.
A link to the survey can be found at the Sun Advocate’s Facebook page.
Jespersen said survey answers will figure prominently in the land use analysis Downtown Redevelopment will include in its later planning.
“The views are fantastic. And the mountain that’s right back behind there is so beautiful,” Jespersen said. “The ideal thing is maybe Helper Project takes it over, or leases the land from Union Pacific for a reasonable price and they have parking that is better organized,” as well as other features that could benefit residents and visitors alike.
“Anything we do is a celebration of the train and what it has done for Helper City,” Jespersen said.
Once Downtown Redevelopment produces its master plan, it will be easier for groups like the Helper Project, city officials or other groups to seek outside financial and other types of support for spurring tourism growth to the quirky haven.