Agenda Date: 09/22/2026
Subject:
Title
Main Street Investment Strategies
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Adrienne Burton, Director of Major Projects |
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Presentations: |
Adrienne Burton, Director of Major Projects |
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Stephen Harris, AtkinsRéalis |
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Jason Rutt, Consor Engineers |
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Meredith Wenskoski, Livable Cities Studio |
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Rachel Roberts, Consor Engineers |
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this Study Session is to provide City Council with an update on the Main Street Improvements project as it advances through Preliminary Design and to gather Council input to inform the next stage of project development. The adopted Project Downtown Concept Plan establishes the intent and overall planning framework for Main Street. Preliminary Design is now advancing that vision by evaluating existing conditions, infrastructure requirements, design opportunities, cost, constructability, and other considerations necessary to develop an implementable project within available funding.
As this work advances, the City will need to make choices about where available investment can most effectively advance the Main Street vision. This Study Session is not intended to reconsider the Concept Plan, establish a final allocation of project funding, or select a design alternative. Rather, Council is being asked to provide input on the relative priority of five Main Street outcomes derived from Project Downtown. Council's perspective will be considered alongside upcoming community and stakeholder input, technical analysis, cost validation, and other project considerations as the team develops cost-informed design approaches for future Council consideration.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Vibrant Community with a Rich Culture; Sustainable Community with Natural Beauty; Robust and Resilient Economy; Safe Community; High-Quality Governance
DISCUSSION:
Project Downtown establishes the starting point
Project Downtown establishes Main Street as an activated, pedestrian-oriented downtown street supporting both everyday activity and temporary closures for special events. This concept includes improvements across all four blocks of Main Street, with the greatest level of transformation focused on the interior blocks. The plan identifies a curbless condition from Curtice Street to Prince Street, while other portions of the corridor maintain a more traditional curbed condition. The materiality guidance further establishes a cohesive streetscape intended to reinforce Downtown Littleton's historic character through paving, furnishings, plantings, lighting, and other public-realm elements. The City's objective entering Preliminary Design is therefore not to develop a new framework for Main Street, but to implement the intent of the concept plan as practicable within available funding and validated project conditions.
In September 2025, City Council considered Main Street within the City's broader long-term capital financing strategy and provided direction to advance the project into design. That discussion recognized Main Street as both a catalytic investment in Downtown and an opportunity to address aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance. Council emphasized the importance of addressing critical downtown infrastructure needs to reduce risk and support long-term performance, while advancing the broader economic, cultural, and operational objectives of Project Downtown. This direction established an important implementation principle for Main Street: investment in the corridor must address both the underlying infrastructure needs that prompted near-term action and the broader community outcomes established through the visioning process.
Project mobilization and due diligence
Since authorization of the project delivery contracts in May 2026, the City and project delivery team have focused on project mobilization and the early due diligence necessary to establish a reliable foundation for Preliminary Design. This work is intended to improve understanding of existing conditions, identify technical and operational constraints early, and reduce uncertainty before significant design decisions are made. Early activities have included project management and team mobilization; review and validation of available survey, utility, and existing-condition information; field investigations; coordination with utility providers; investigation of existing utility systems and potential conflicts; and initial assessment of roadway, drainage, accessibility, streetscape, and other corridor conditions. The team has also begun coordination among the Design Consultant, CM/GC, Owner's Representative, and Independent Cost Estimator so that constructability, cost, schedule, and risk considerations can be incorporated as design develops.
In parallel, the team is advancing the Parking and Curbside Management Strategy and preparing for the next phase of community, business, property owner, and LDDA engagement. Together, these activities establish the technical baseline from which the Main Street concept can be tested and refined during Preliminary Design. This early work does not change the overall vision. Rather, it provides the project-specific information necessary to understand what exists below and above ground, what must be addressed as part of the project, and where constraints or opportunities may influence implementation of the concept.
Preliminary Design establishes what is achievable
With project mobilization and initial due diligence underway, the project is transitioning into the iterative design and evaluation work of Preliminary Design. As presented to Council at contract award, this phase is intended to refine the preferred concept, evaluate feasibility, and align scope with cost, phasing, operational considerations, and validated site conditions before advancing to final design or construction. The City's integrated delivery structure allows design, cost, constructability, schedule, and risk to be evaluated concurrently as the concept advances. Preliminary Design will progressively refine corridor layout and cross-sections, infrastructure requirements, parking and curbside operations, business access and continuity, streetscape improvements, and other project elements.
Minimum required infrastructure as baseline investment
A significant portion of the Main Street investment will be necessary to address the minimum infrastructure and functional requirements of the corridor. These requirements must be addressed regardless of the ultimate level of streetscape enhancement. As Preliminary Design advances, the project team will validate requirements associated with accessibility and pedestrian safety, roadway and intersection function, drainage, utilities, lighting and electrical infrastructure, business and property access, required traffic and curbside functions, and infrastructure necessary for long-term performance. The project team will seek cost-effective, durable, and integrated solutions for meeting these requirements; however, the minimum required level of performance is not an investment tradeoff. After project delivery costs, risk allowances, minimum required infrastructure, and other required expenditures are accounted for, the remaining available investment can be directed toward design enhancements that further advance the concept plan.
Available investment requires prioritization
For purposes of Preliminary Design, the project team has derived five outcomes from the goals, recommendations, and physical concepts established through Project Downtown. These are not new or alternative objectives for Main Street. All five outcomes remain important components of the vision. However, available funding is not expected to support development and implementation of design enhancements across all five outcomes at a level that would meaningfully advance each one. Distributing the remaining available investment across all outcomes could dilute the impact of the project and result in a less effective implementation of the concept plan. The City will therefore gather input from City Council, the community, downtown businesses, property owners, the LDDA, and other stakeholders regarding the relative importance of these outcomes. This input will help identify which outcomes should receive priority for the remaining available investment and where the project team should focus development of supporting design enhancements.
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Outcome |
What the project seeks to achieve |
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Pedestrian Circulation & Comfort |
Safe, accessible, and comfortable pedestrian circulation that supports movement along and across Main Street. |
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Business + Street Activation |
A public realm that supports commerce, outdoor activity, gathering and everyday street life |
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Trees + Landscape |
Meaningful tree canopy, shade, landscape and environmental performance |
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Event Flexibility |
A Main Street that functions effectively every day while adapting for temporary events and programming |
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Downtown Identity + Character |
A cohesive public realm that reinforces Downtown Littleton's historic character and distinctive sense of place |
These outcomes are intentionally framed around what the concept plan seeks to achieve, rather than individual design components. Prioritizing an outcome therefore does not prescribe a particular design solution. For example, prioritizing Downtown Identity + Character does not prescribe a particular paving material or furnishing, just as prioritizing Trees + Landscape does not establish a specific number of trees. Once priority outcomes are better understood, the project team will develop and test design enhancements that most effectively advance those outcomes within available funding and validated project conditions.
Advancing outcomes through project investment
Minimum required infrastructure should not be viewed separately from the outcomes established through Project Downtown. Many required investments will directly support one or more of the five outcomes. Accessibility improvements, crossings, and sidewalk reconstruction support Pedestrian Circulation + Comfort; utility and electrical infrastructure can support Business + Street Activation and Event Flexibility; drainage, irrigation, and soil infrastructure support Trees + Landscape; and roadway and curbside improvements contribute to safe and effective circulation, access, and downtown operations.
Once priority outcomes are better understood, the project team will translate those priorities into design by evaluating the intensity, investment level, and concentration of supporting enhancements. These variables will allow the team to develop coordinated, cost-informed approaches that focus available investment where it provides the greatest value while remaining grounded in the concept plan. If validated project requirements and available funding ultimately require a material departure from the original intent, staff will return to City Council for direction.
Council, community and stakeholder input
Project Downtown was developed through a robust, multi-year public engagement process with numerous opportunities for community and stakeholder participation. Consistent with the visioning and planning nature of that effort, engagement emphasized the Involve and Collaborate levels of the IAP2 Spectrum, with community input playing a significant role in shaping the alternatives and ultimately the concept plan. As the project moves from planning into Preliminary Design, the purpose of engagement is also evolving. Project Downtown establishes the direction and overall planning framework for Main Street. Engagement during Preliminary Design will therefore generally emphasize the Inform and Consult levels of the IAP2 Spectrum-providing information as the design advances and gathering targeted input to help the project team implement the adopted approach while increasing certainty around scope, cost, technical requirements, and constructability.
This Study Session provides an opportunity to hear City Council's perspective early in Preliminary Design, particularly regarding which of the five Main Street outcomes should receive priority for the remaining available investment. Following the Study Session, the City will engage the community, downtown businesses, property owners, the LDDA, and other stakeholders to explore these outcomes together with user and business needs, desired experiences and character, and location-specific opportunities and concerns. This input will be considered alongside technical analysis, parking and curbside findings, cost validation, constructability, operations and maintenance considerations, and available funding to inform subsequent design development. The results of this engagement and technical work will inform the cost-informed design approaches presented to City Council for consideration in January 2027.
BACKGROUND:
Project Downtown and Main Street Improvements
Project Downtown is the City’s long-term initiative to guide coordinated reinvestment in historic Downtown Littleton. Following a multi-year planning and community engagement process, City Council adopted the Project Downtown Concept Plan in November 2024, establishing the vision and policy framework for future improvements. Main Street was identified as the highest-priority major project and represents the first phase of implementation.
In September 2025, City Council directed staff to advance Main Street Improvements into design as part of the City’s broader capital investment strategy. The project is intended to address aging and deferred infrastructure while implementing the adopted vision for a more functional, resilient, and active downtown environment. The planning-level cost model developed with the 2024 Concept Plan reflected the scope and assumptions associated with the conceptual vision and exceeded the funding subsequently authorized for Main Street Improvements. As a result, the adopted concept cannot simply advance directly into final design without further evaluation and refinement. Preliminary Design provides the iterative process for reconciling the adopted vision with available funding by validating infrastructure requirements, existing conditions, cost, constructability, and risk while evaluating where investment can most effectively advance the outcomes established through Project Downtown.
In May 2026, the City authorized the professional services and project delivery contracts necessary to begin design and preconstruction. The integrated project team includes Consor North America, Inc. as Design Consultant/Engineer of Record; Ames Construction, Inc. as CM/GC; AtkinsRéalis as Owner’s Representative; and Stanton Constructability Services as Independent Cost Estimator. This delivery structure allows design, cost, constructability, schedule, and risk to be evaluated concurrently as the project advances through Preliminary Design.
Project Funding
City Council authorized up to $30 million in Certificates of Participation for Main Street Improvements, supplemented by $2.6 million in additional capital funding, providing approximately $32.6 million in total available project funding. These funds must support the full cost of project delivery, including design and engineering, preconstruction and construction services, project management, infrastructure improvements, design enhancements, contingency, risk, and other project costs.
Prior Actions or Discussions
City Council Regular Meeting (Contract Approvals) - May 2026
City Council Study Session (Certificates of Participation Overview) - March 2026
City Council Study Session (Project Delivery Team Overview) - February 2026
City Council Study Session (Project Downtown Economic Impact Analysis) - December 2025
City Council Study Session (Long-Term Capital Financing) - September 2025
City Council Study Session (Council Retreat Update) - May 2025
City Council Retreat - March 2025
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Available project funding must support both hard and soft project costs, including design and engineering, preconstruction and construction services, project management, minimum required infrastructure, design enhancements, contingency, risk, and other project delivery costs. Preliminary Design will progressively refine these costs as infrastructure requirements, design quantities, cost estimates, risk, and constructability become better defined.
After project delivery costs, risk, minimum required infrastructure, and other required expenditures are accounted for, the remaining available investment will be focused on design enhancements supporting the prioritized outcomes. This approach is intended to maximize the impact of available funding rather than dilute enhancement investment across all five outcomes.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff requests City Council input to inform the next stage of Preliminary Design:
1. Recognizing that available funding will require choices in the design enhancements that can be developed and implemented, which of the five Main Street outcomes should receive priority for the remaining available investment?
Pedestrian Circulation + Comfort | Business + Street Activation | Trees + Landscape | Event Flexibility | Downtown Identity + Character
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Provide alternative or additional direction.
City Council may provide different or additional direction regarding the considerations that should guide continued development of the Main Street Improvements project.
2. Defer providing input.
City Council may defer providing input until additional community and stakeholder engagement, technical analysis, cost information, or other project information is available. Deferring input would reduce Council direction available to the project team during the next stage of Preliminary Design and may affect the development or timing of cost-informed design approaches planned for future Council consideration.