Business & Tech

LakewoodAlive Looks Back on 2011

There's more to LakewoodAlive than really cool downtown events. The non-profit presented the highlights of 2011, and outline the goals for 2012 at Lakewood City Hall on Monday.

There’s more to than the cool and  and  events.

The city’s economic development non-profit firm hosted a presentation for city council on Monday to highlight some of the work in 2011 and outline some of the organization’s goals in 2012.

"We want to re-emphasize what we're doing," said LakewoodAlive director Ian Andrews on Tuesday. "There are a lot of positive things happening in the community, but a lot of people see the events side and there's so much more than just the events — particularly with housing."

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Here are some of the highlights:

Downtown Lakewood: Design Committee

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  • Signage plan
  • Downtown “greening” plan
  • Commercial and design principles
  • Future historic district designation

Downtown Lakewood: Promotional Committee, promoting activities in Lakewood. 

  • Race Lakewood

Downtown Lakewood: Economic Restructuring, strengthening assets and sharpening competitiveness

  • Work with property owners to fill spaces
  • Work with merchants to find space
  • Work with entrepreneurs for business development
  • Retention and attraction

The big topic of the presentation featured what many city leaders consider the city’s greatest challenge: Housing.

LakewoodAlive’s housing outreach initiative looks to "help residents with the fewest resources" to ensure that the city’s housing stock is well-maintained, said LakewoodAlive’s housing outreach coordinator Hilary Schickler.

“We’re reaching out to more people and providing more services,” she said.

Schickler talked about the available programs, including grants and loans for Lakewood homeowners, as well as a few other offerings:

  • Paint program offers residents $1,000 to paint their homes.
  • Housewarming program, designed to provide free insulation to income-eligible residents and can provide new furnaces and electrical upgrades.
  • Financial counseling and foreclosure prevention.

Schickler also emphasized volunteering as a critical part of the organization.

“One of the things I am proud of in 2011 is honing in on volunteers,” using area churches and schools doing “everything from yard cleanup to porch rebuilding.”


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