Montrose, Colorado

MONTROSE, CO and we’ve created downtown events to promote the heart of our community.” The city recently received a $2-mil- lion grant for the Connect Trail Ini- tiative, a project designed to connect the MURA development on the city’s north side, to the southern areas of the city via a concrete trail that will allow residents to traverse the city free from vehicle traffic. “We have a walk/bike path that already exists in the heart of Montrose, but we’re going to extend it out north into the new outdoor sports park, and it’s also going to extend all the way to the south to our new recreation cen- ter, which is a world-class facility that was built two years ago and is a really great asset to the community,” Rosty adds. Montrose also works to retain and support the town’s small business- es, many of which occupy its historic downtown. “We have a small busi- ness incentive program that’s really been picking up here,” Rosty explains. “With the addition of broadband, we are now a 1GB community and our internet has been localized; our local power cooperative actually owns the new fiber internet service here, which is very fast and efficient. It will be in every residence and business by the end of next year. That’s something that we’ve tried to capital- ize on for small business attraction.We have job creation incentives; we have capital improvement initiatives; we can help with things like relocation expenses. And what we like to say to our small businesses is: ‘If you don’t see it on our list of things that we offer, just ask.We will be happy to accommodate and make a custom package for any business interested in the Montrose area.’” Another creative initiative the city has pursued is a partnership with a private company called Proximity Space, a nationally renowned co-work- ing business. “We’ve revitalized a downtown space, and turned it into a co-working facility,” Rosty explains. “The City invested $250,000 in capital improvements in that building and then the business came in and cultivated this whole