What’s not to like? A compact, relaxed, rural community with big skies and the space to get away, whether snowmobiling, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing in the winter months, or exploring the river and taking the ATV out on a multitude of trails in summer. It’s more than two million acres of public lands; it’s a call to come away from big city life that only gets bigger, to the authentic connection of community. It’s the city of Craig, Colorado.
Poised to restart
At the heart of helping to make this area the best it can be is the Moffat Economic Development Authority (MEDA). Created to oversee the settlement funds resulting from the energy transition settlement with Tri State Generation and Transmission Association of the coal-fired power plant slated to close in 2028, MEDA consists of five board members: two from the county, two from the city, and one elected by the school district.
“The main goal is to create jobs we’ll be losing as a result of the closure, as well as help diversify the property tax base,” explains Shannon Scott, Economic Development Manager.
The $22 million award in direct benefit payments will go toward a community economic development trust fund for projects that help achieve these goals, with the potential to receive an additional $48 million between 2028 and 2038. The intent is to keep that fund in perpetuity, says Scott, building up interest to be spent in the initial years while saving the principal. With the first $5.5 million received in January, MEDA will receive another $5.5 million for the next four to five years, with the aim of enticing interested companies and businesses.
Other exciting projects include the recent completion of the Craig River Park as part of the Yampa River Corridor Project, a major public investment that essentially reconnects the City of Craig with the Yampa River.
“It’s an awesome asset that’s fairly underutilized in our area,” says Melanie Kilpatrick, Project Manager, Craig River Park Project. Comprising two key components, the Craig River Park is a new recreation area with whitewater features, trails, space to gather, and a new boat ramp with improved river access at Loudy-Simpson Park. Together, these projects will create a safer, more usable riverfront that reflects Craig’s commitment to outdoor recreation, quality of life, and long-term economic transition.
“We’ve had a plethora of support, with projects funded by local, state, and federal partners, including the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Great Outdoors Colorado, and the Office of Just Transition, just to name a few, with about 17 project funding partners in total,” adds Kilpatrick. “It’s been a long process of grant writing and securing funding, assembling all the partners and getting through construction, which was a challenge in itself, so we’re delighted to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’re excited about what this means for our community.”
It’s all about forging a recreation connection and improving quality of life for Craig, she says, and attracting both visitors and industry, all with invaluable input from residents.
For the community
“I would absolutely say that Craig River Park is designed for the community by the community,” says Kilpatrick. “It’s a place where families can play, events can thrive, and our town can reconnect with the river, which is pretty powerful in a rural space here in northwest Colorado—we just haven’t had the opportunity before.”
Another exciting initiative is the Bad Alibi Distillery and Ann’s Authentic Thai/Unit 301 Sports Bar & Grill, the result of the approval of two urban renewal authority (URA) areas in the past few years. “One of the owners is a gentleman who will be transitioning out of the power plant, wanted to stay in Craig and be an entrepreneur, and with the help of the URA area and TIF funding, was able to bring this idea of opening this distillery in Craig to reality,” Scott shares.
Craig is also in the process of forming a third URA area to cover future business and industrial parks to incentivize development and bring in new business, while enticing developers to locate and expand in the area. And other marketing efforts include promoting Craig and its numerous assets by developing a new economic development website through work with the Marketing Alliance company to create targeted marketing and awareness campaigns.
New opportunities – the Business Industrial Park
The Business Industrial Park has been in the works for some years, says Scott. After identifying a 25-acre piece of land within the city limits of Craig, the city was able to secure grant funding to purchase this parcel of land, and closed at the end of September, also receiving another grant of $2.5 million for infrastructure.
“Our goal is to build a shovel-ready park,” Scott explains. “Craig is an attractive place to do business, but to be competitive with other cities and states, we need something for these businesses to come into that makes financial sense for them.” This includes hiring a master planner to help put together not only concepts but an overall master plan of how to utilize the $2.5 million for that initial infrastructure build-out.
“We already have interest from two potential tenants and are working with the UP rail line to see what opportunities we have if someone might be interested in shipping their product via freight,” says Scott.
A place to live
Finally, there’s a much-needed and welcome focus on housing, with the building of townhomes and apartment complexes, another ongoing project catalyzed via local businesses and major employers who were facing challenges recruiting staff. “As we’re heavily recruiting for new industry to come in, these folks have to have a place to live,” Scott emphasizes.
The completion of a housing needs assessment and action plan has allowed for a better understanding of what types of housing units and price points Craig needs. For the townhomes, a little over $5 million in grant funding was secured to help the project come to fruition, targeting average median incomes (AMI) between 80 and 140 percent of Moffat County incomes. A one-person household at 100 percent AMI is about $72,000; there are 20 units total, with twelve, two-bedroom units available and selling at $235,000; and six, three-bedroom units available and selling at $275,000.
“You probably won’t find anything else in that price range—no new construction, especially in this area and probably in the state,” adds Scott. “It’s a great quality project, and we’re really proud of that.”
This project also spurred interest from private developers to engage in housing discussions, prompting the planned apartments that will hopefully break ground next spring, she adds. This private development of 96 units targeting between 60 and 100 percent AMI was also secured between the City of Craig and the private developer with about $5 million in funding.
A boost and benefit for all
Another exciting upcoming project is a new sports complex, still in the early stages, that will truly benefit the entire community. As the existing aquatics facility is on borrowed time at this point, Craig is just beginning the journey of planning something big, new, and exciting for new generations to enjoy.
The city realizes that it’s important to bring the entire community of Craig along on that journey, and—as with the Craig River Park project, which was community-driven and conceived of as a massive, legacy project to impact everyone from the city’s youth to its senior population—attract and serve an all-embracing demographic.
“We’re just in the beginning stage of that journey, and it will probably be a challenging one, especially as we figure out what the funding mechanisms might be,” says Kilpatrick. “We’re working through that, but there seems to be a lot of positive response and momentum for something like that type of facility.”
Rare workforce opportunity
Looking ahead, there is much to be excited about in the City of Craig, from new outdoor activities to growth opportunities and investments, impacting residents and visitors and helping everyone connect with the outdoors, particularly the Yampa River.
Boasting an impressive local workforce is also a priority for MEDA, stresses Scott. From the economic development side, Craig offers a workforce that will be transitioning out of the coal mines and the power plant into a wide variety of employment possibilities.
“I always tell people, the type of work ethic that our people possess is a different mindset,” says Scott. “It’s a different type of person that works in these industries. They’re hardworking, they’re trustworthy, they’re smart; they have these skill sets that are so attractive to industry, and you just don’t find that anymore.”
The city of Craig offers a keen and dedicated workforce that is open to new opportunities, land that’s fairly inexpensive for the State of Colorado, and an impressive and enviable quality of life that makes the city and area the place to be.
“There are so many great reasons to be here, especially now that we have the MEDA coming online, where we can give incentives to businesses,” Scott says. “There are so many things we have that are attractive to an industry that wants to locate here.”
