Cheyenne Council, LEADS Looking At Plan To Fill The Hole, Hynds Building

A proposal which is working it's way through the Cheyenne City Council would try to address a couple of long-time issues in Downtown Cheyenne.

The idea is to join forces with Cheyenne Leads and use money approved by voters a few years ago to bring the Hynds Building and "the hole" back to life.

The Hynds Building has been a Cheyenne Landmark for over 100 years since opening in 1920. But outside of some first floor businesses that currently reside there, it has been vacant since the 1980s

''The hole,' located right next door, was most recently home to Mary's Bake Shoppe. But the shop was decimated in a 2004 fire and the property has sat vacant and abandoned since that time. While a decorative fence mostly shields the space from the view downtown visitors, the forlorn lot itself sits vacant, as it has for over 20 years.

Several Ideas Have Been Considered Over The Years

In recent years there have been various projects floated to occupy the building, with the same or, at times, separate proposals also aiming at revitalizing the hole

As recently as 2023 there was discussion of housing apartments, office and retail space and maybe a restaurant in the old building. That plan would have also incorporated "the hole" into the development plans.

But like several other proposals that failed for a lack of money, because they were determined to not be moneymakers, or for some other reason, it didn't happen. At one point there was talk of housing the Cheyenne Children's Museum there. But that facility ended up finding a home on O'Neil Avenue, not far away.

A few years ago, the idea of a "pocket park'' in the hole was under consideration. Needless to say, that didn't happen either.

But in his ''Mayor's Minute" Column on Friday, Mayor Patrick Collins said another effort to bring the area back to life is under consideration. While noting that the property is privately owned, Collins had the following comments:

"I introduced a resolution to the Finance Committee this week that, if passed, will result in a memorandum of understanding between the City and LEADS to form a public-private partnership to bring development to the Hynds Building and the downtown hole. Over the past couple of decades, multiple developers have tried to find a way to make the Hynds/Hole project happen. Unfortunately, the projects never happened because they were not financially viable. The voters approved the Large Project Completion Fund on the last 6th Penny sales tax to bring the necessary resources that could bridge the gap and make projects like the Hynds/Hole viable."

The funding would come from the Large Project Completion fund, approved by Laramie County voters on the 2021 6th Penny Sales Tax ballot.