The Powerhouse at 1333 Camino del Rio in Durango is hosting community meetings on Tuesday to gather feedback about what community services and amenities are missing in Durango and how the Powerhouse can help.
Powerhouse Executive Director Jeff Susor said the Durango community is struggling with population shifts and the cost of living, including the affordability of housing, and the Powerhouse is zeroing in on ways to create and adapt a space that supports families.
“Our intent is to make a multimillion dollar investment in the museum and the downtown riverfront over the next three to five years informed by the community’s priorities,” he said in an email.
The best way the nonprofit museum and learning hub for children can do that, he said, is to hear from residents and community members directly.
Susor said in an interview the Powerhouse also wants to involve the community in discussions about what a world-class riverfront would look like. He said the notion has floated along for a while now, and with the development of a new fire station at the old Animas City Hall next door at 1235 Camino del Rio, any development of such a riverfront would occur right outside the Powerhouse’s front door.
Twenty-five years ago, the Powerhouse was a “hair’s breadth away” from being torn down by the city, he said. A group of residents rallied to save the building from demolition, raising about $6.5 million to renovate the building and transform it into a children’s museum and science center.
“Eighty-five percent of that investment was in saving the building and turning it into a functional space for kids,” he said. “Only 15% of the investment went into exhibits.”
He said now is a chance to explore what is possible if such funding was devoted to exhibits, enhancing visitor space and spaces for play and learning for children and parents alike.
Powerhouse Deputy Director Sydney Golden said the Powerhouse’s ambitions don’t end there.
“Our community has built the Powerhouse, whether it was fundraising, whether it was saving the building, all the stuff that it took,” she said. “And I don’t think we could picture the future of the Powerhouse without hearing from our community.”
She said the possible opportunities are expansive. Classes for early mothers, toddler programming, more art classes, yoga and dance lessons, business roundtables, a community hub – the possibilities are abundant.
“While we are a children's museum, we really are a community hub for so much more,” she said. “(We’re) trying to talk to people who maybe don’t have kids or families or grandkids, and just really letting them know that their voice is important in this process. Because we’re a space for everyone and not just for families, although that’s our main focus.”
The community meetings are scheduled for 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Powerhouse museum’s boiler room.
cburney@durangoherald.com