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Evergreen Legacy Fund Timeline

2010

Formation of  Downtown Evergreen Economic District

  • Downtown Evergreen Economic District (DEED) starts as a committee of the Evergreen Downtown Business Association (EDBA). The original DEED board was voted in by EDBA members to specifically include business owners, property owners and Evergreen leaders at large. This same representation and structure (in a nine person board) remains to this day

  • DEED's mission is to develop a central plan to solve the problem of overuse and under-repair of the downtown infrastructure

  • Infrastructure issues due to Evergreen being unincorporated with no agencies to take ownership of growing downtown deterioration

  •  READ: "Incorporation: Why Evergreen Never Became a City" 

The boardwark on Main Street in Evergreen, Colorado

2012

Formation of the Evergreen Legacy Fund by the Downtown Evergreen Economic District

Crosswalk on Main Street

  • DEED becomes a non-profit corporation.

  • A voluntary 1% fee is created as a means to generate and collect necessary funds needed to provide cash matching requirements for grants needed to pay for downtown infrastructure updates

  • DEED partners with multiple public agencies to identify necessary infrastructure projects in and around downtown Evergreen

2013

Bear Creek floods

  • DEED contributes to downtown flood relief and authorizes use of Evergreen Legacy Funds to place 4 temp restrooms throughout downtown to immediately alleviate the overtaxed sewer system, and provide much needed service to locals and visitors

  • DEED and Jefferson County are awarded Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Trails Master Planning Grant

  • DEED wins the Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce Emerald Award for service in the Evergreen community

  • DEED changes name to GREATER DEED to acknowledge the surrounding Evergreen areas that also need infrastructure advocacy

Bear Creek floodwaters behine Cactus Jack's in Evergreen, Colorado
Evergreen Community Meeting

2014

Evergreen Trails Master Plan is launched

  • 4 community open houses are held for local feedback

  • DEED recognizes the infrastructure problems are endemic to ALL public commercial areas across the Evergreen community, not just the downtown corridor

2015

Downtown Evergreen Economic District finalizes the Evergreen Trails Master Plan with Jefferson County

Trail linking Evergreen Lake to Main Street in Evergreen, Colorado
Trail and ramp linking Evergreen Lake to Main Street

  • 200-ft pedestrian bridge/trail connecting the lake trail to downtown Evergreen is complete

  • ELF assists in fund matching ($30K) to secure partner funding and also assists with project coordination

2016

  • ELF prepares design and renderings of the Lake North Trail, with an upper trail by the road and a lower boardwalk trail along the lake in response to the 2016 Lake Trail washout.

Evergreen Lake North Trail Boardwalk

2017

Evergreen Local Improvement District is proposed

  • Evergreen Local Improvement District (ELID) is the county vehicle in which the ELF fund is to be used as a grant matching tool to pay for the Evergreen infrastructure issues

  • The ELID initiative is assisted by the DEED board who work closely with Jefferson County Commissioners and other agencies to bring all local issues to light

  •  WATCH: ELF and ELID Community Presentation by DEED and Dean Dalvit at Evergreen Lakehouse  

  • DEED partners with Evergreen Park & Recreation District (EPRD) on the North Lake Redevelopment Trail plan

  • DEED maintains 2 downtown defibrilllators as part of its community assistance commitment

Dean Dalvit of Bear Paw
Christ the King Pedestrian Crossing

2018

Evergreen Local Improvement District workshops are held to launch message and gather community input

  • Persistent efforts with CDOT over 6 years results in curb-to-curb paving of Main Street! ELF has no financial obligation for this paving, but their tireless advocacy results in this Master Plan project coming to fruition.

 

  • Christ the King pedestrian crossing is installed on Hwy 74. Again ELF works on planning and advocacy for this important pedestrian crossing with no financial obligation. Just PHP (people helping people).☺

2019

Jefferson County and Downtown Evergreen Economic District are selected to host an Urban Land Institute Technical Advisory Panel to discuss the unique challenges of Downtown Evergreen

Evergreen Lake Underpass Mural

ELID Boundaries Map

2020

Jefferson County Commissioners vote to pass Evergreen Local Improvement District!

  • ELID Boundaries Map approved (play video, left)

  •  ELID Project List  approved 

  • DEED changes name from Downtown Evergreen Economic District to Evergreen Economic District (EED) to encompass all economic activity areas of Evergreen

  • EED changes name to ELF Foundation (aka Evergreen Legacy Fund)

2021

  • RiverWalk and additional parking on Main Street completed—a half-mile stretch of roadway along Bear Creek was converted to one-way traffic to accommodate bikers and pedestrians. In addition, 6 new parking places were added to lower Main Street.

  • A signalized crosswalk in front of Center for the Arts Evergreen was added across Colorado Hwy. 65 connecting to Bergen Park and the RTD lot.

Bikers.jpg
Mural picture.jpg

2022

  • ELF funded the addition of a mural by EHS students to two sides of the Evergreen Metro Building below the dam.

2023

  • ELF donates $50,000 to EPRD toward the reconstruction of the Evergreen North Lake Trail.

  • The crossings between The Marketplace at Bergen Park (King Soopers) and Bergen Village were replaced to make them ADA accessible and more pedestrian-friendly.

Trail ribbon cutting.jpg
IMG_4605 (1).jpg

2024

  • ELF donates $5,000 toward the mural on the Century Link building on lower Main Street—a project of Leadership Evergreen Class of 2022.

  • ELF partners with Evergreen Metro District to provide a stone bench below the mural at the dam

  • ELF responsible for the addition of sidewalks and crosswalks near Wilmot Elementary School to improve pedestrian safety

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