Seize the Hynds Building and pull it down

This is the second of two columns on the downtown “hole” and the neighboring Hynds Building. The first, published here June 14, was headlined: “Business leaders created “nightmare” at “The Hole.” 

BY D. REED ECKHARDT

The article in the local newspaper doesn’t say whether car dealer and Cheyenne Planning Commission member Brian Tyrrell was joking when he responded to a plan by

the City Council to subsidize the development of the Hynds Building downtown.

According to the story, dated July 10, 2018, meeting, “Developer John Volk … called the subsidy ‘a handout’ … Tyrrell agreed (and said) it was perhaps time to consider razing the structure.”

Now there was a man with a plan, even if he didn’t know it. 

Only one strategy makes sense for the both “The Hole” downtown as well as the neighboring Hynds Building. It is time that the Hynds come down and both sites be put to good use for the community.

Face it: The people of Cheyenne have stood on the sidelines for decades

and watched as the Hynds has gone empty while hogging up prime downtown space on West Lincolnway. The latest effort by developer David Hatch was pure snake oil: He wanted the government to pick up most of the tab. As if.
As for “The Hole,” the best of all options was scuttled by downtown business leaders, now-Mayor Marian Orr and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. They wanted the space for their buddy, Hatch, and their ouster of the Children’s Museum

The Hynds Building in downtown Cheyenne.

of Cheyenne from the site has again left an empty hole in the ground and a still undeveloped Hynds.
So, separately “The Hole” can’t go it alone, and neither can the Hynds. It is time for radical action that might get downtown kickstarted again.

Here is what has to be done: Local government should initiate procedures to use its eminent domain power to seize the Hynds and raze it, a la Tyrrell’s proposal. Government officials then should begin plans to use the property for an arts and cultural center. It could harbor working artists as well as include practice rooms for musicians and perhaps even a small performance venue.

Before you say the city can’t do that, please review Wyoming House Bill 125. It passed the Legislature and was signed into law on Feb. 28, 2007. 

While state lawmakers at that time were opposed to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed the seizure of private property for private economic development efforts (Kelo v. City of New London, 2005), they did permit that same seizure for public purposes. That is defined as “the possession, occupation and enjoyment of the land by a public entity.”

So if the City Council decided to end the problems of the Hynds and “The Hole,” they could do it, provided they could put together the money to pay for the seizure. The price for the Hynds: Hatch was asking $2.2 million a year ago, but he paid $1.6 million. And given that it is virtually impossible to develop, the price for the Hynds surely is less than that.

As for the land’s future use, an arts/cultural center makes perfect sense. Downtown has added several art galleries in recent years, and the downtown plaza has proven a boon for musicians. It is time that this city continues that trend by making a bold statement that it is about more than cowboys and Frontier Days, both of which hog up way too much of this community’s mindset.

Dying cities across the nation are using the arts to springboard into their futures. One such community is Thomas, W.Va. It recently was featured in an article in May 15 issue of Yes! Magazine, “How an ‘Arts and Culture Economy’ Rebuilt a Former Coal Town.” (https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/arts-culture-economy-rebuilt-former-coal-town-20190515) The arts have turned a lifeless downtown into a locale with great enthusiasm and growth.

The article also mentions Montana’s Atrtrepeneur Program, which trains rural artists in the best practices of business development, and Virginia’s “Crooked Road,” a heritage music trail with sites for traditional gospel, mountain and bluegrass. And it points to a publication from the National Governors Association, “Rural Prosperity Through the Arts and Creative Sector.” (https://www.nga.org/ruralarts/) 

I already can hear the voices of the naysayers and their city leaders, like Orr: “That will never happen here.” “How will you pay for it?” “We would never support using taxpayer funds for (harrumph!) ‘art.’” Blah, blah, blah.

When did the “we can” spirit of Westerners turn into the “we can’t” of too many of Cheyenne leaders? The Capital City must stop letting circumstances dictate its depressed spirit and dictate to circumstances instead. This is an idea that can turn downtown around. If you doubt it, read the documents cited above.

To say that the City Council lacks vision for Cheyenne would be an understatement. They have done nothing to advance downtown as an engine that could drive a successful future. 

It is time somebody step up. Stop whispering “No, we can’t” and begin shouting, “Yes, we can!” Pull down the Hynds and create an arts/cultural center that will do this city proud. 

You don’t like “The Hole” and the empty Hynds? Then, by God, do something about it.

D. Reed Eckhardt is the former editor of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.