It has been more than a year since a special election set up a downtown development authority for Old Colorado City. After several months without significant action, the body will take its first major step this week to set up its leadership. Colorado Springs City Council is scheduled to vote Tues day to appoint four new members to the authority’s board and reappoint two of the current members. If approved, the board will be at full capacity and be able to start moving forward on decisions for the area. “We have been pretty dormant, but as soon as we get our board approved, we’ll be getting right back on it,” said Ryan Lloyd, one of the original members of the governing board. The history of Old Colorado City is explained on the outside of the self-cleaning bathrooms in Bancroft Park on Dec. 5, 2025, in the Old Colorado City neighborhood of Colorado Springs. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette) The special district roughly covers the entirety of Old Colorado City and the stretch of Colorado Avenue between the Interstate 25 exit to the east and the Manitou Springs city boundary to the west. The area covers around 425 businesses and 250 residential properties, according to previous presentations by advocates for the development authority. Voters established the authority in a November 2024 special election overseen by the Spencer Fane law firm. Voters also approved measures to allow the development authority board to retain the sales tax revenue generated in the district and pursue bonds to pay for major improvements. Colorado Springs has had a similar authority overseeing the main downtown development area since 2006. The city is the first municipality in Colorado to have two development authorities running at the same time. People walk past the shops along Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City on Dec. 5, 2025. After a special election in November 2024 established a special district for the Colorado Springs neighborhood, the Colorado Springs City Council will vote this week to appoint four new members to a downtown development authority for Old Colorado City. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette) Lloyd is the founder of Echo Architecture, owns the Sluice building on Colorado Avenue and has lived near Old Colorado City for 15 years. He was among the original group of representatives that led the election effort for the downtown development authority. Lloyd said the creation of the district had been championed by former Councilmember Michelle Talarico. The transition between Talarico choosing not to run for office again and Brandy Williams being elected to represent District 3, slowed the process of filling the board seats. Williams said it was exciting to be part of a board that was just starting out and still evolving. “People wanting to be involved is always the best way to get from here to success, regardless of the part of the city we’re talking about,” Williams said. All 11 members of the board must be a resident, business owner or property owner within the district’s boundaries. The only exception is Williams, who represents the entirety of the area in Council District 3. Allison Daniell, a freelance photographer who works out of the Sluice building, is expected to be among the four incoming board members. Daniell said she had been looking for ways to get more involved in Colorado Springs when she heard about the board openings earlier this year. “When you’re working in a place, you tend to have a bigger heart for it and want it to succeed,” Daniell said. The other issue that had slowed down the board was figuring out how to fund the development authority. During the election last year, voters narrowly rejected a 5 mill levy that was intended to provide a dedicated tax revenue source in the short term. People come and go from Jives Coffee Lounge in Old Colorado City on Dec. 5, 2025. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette) Lloyd said the authority still needed a regular funding source to take on projects over the next few years. The board will likely try to schedule an election in November 2026 to take a second shot at passing the mill levy. “That’s really been the problem with organizations that have been involved in OCC before. There has never been a consistent funding source,” Lloyd said. “Without funding, we’re really a nonfunctioning board.” Funding from a mill levy would become more important if the area saw more limited use of tax-increment financing than downtown. The funding method is based on the expected future sales and property taxes on new projects and redevelopment. Williams said one of her first questions about the authority had been how often the area would see redevelopment. “How you overlay that with a space like Old Colorado City versus downtown is going to be a lot different. I can’t imagine they will be excited about tearing down their old, beautiful buildings,” Williams said. One of the immediate needs Lloyd said the board would likely work on was adding more streetlights throughout the district. The board will also need to create a master development plan for Old Colorado City to outline how and where the funding will be used to make improvements. ...read more read less