The state’s arts office has announced $10 million in tax credits to 10 mixed-use projects across Colorado that will support artists by creating jobs, affordable housing, gathering spaces, childcare services or learning spaces.

The two largest recipients will be credited $1.95 million each. One will redevelop a former Greyhound bus terminal in Grand Junction into a mixed-use project that will include gallery space, artist studios, community education and gathering spaces, culinary arts and 107 income-restricted apartments. The other, in Englewood, will provide 52 residential units that will prioritize artists, creatives and healthcare workers with moderate income.

In Walsenburg, a $333,000 grant will help to restore and reopen the 108-year-old Fox Theatre as a home for movies, concerts, live performances and educational workshops.

In Salida, $1.75 million will go toward creating 19 affordable rental units, making it the first-ever affordable housing project for members of the creative sector. In Aspen, the renovation of two buildings on the campus of the Aspen Music Festival and School will provide housing for full-time and part-time staff. ($630,000O). In Boulder, embattled public radio station KGNU will get $850,000 to expand production studios it makes available to nonprofits at low or no cost; and a performance space accommodating 60-90 people.

Similar grants will benefit The Powerhouse in Durango (1,080,000), the World Wonderview Tower in Genoa ($134,941) and the Foothills Arts Center in Golden ($18,891.50).

Additionally, a 3,500 square-foot artist studio and gallery space will be leased to Redline Contemporary Art Center at operating cost for Redline to market to artists and creatives. This live-work opportunity will enable artists to benefit from affordable residential and commercial spaces, fostering a collaborative artistic community.

This program is called the Community Revitalization Tax Credit, and it is administered through  Colorado Creative Industries, a  division of the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

“Colorado continues to lead the way by supporting the creative industries in our state,” said Gov. Jared Polis. “We know that arts and culture do more than improve our quality of life. The arts help our thriving economy, contributing nearly $20 billion per year and supporting over 120,000 jobs across the state.”

Recipients of the tax credit span from Denver to Durango, Grand Junction, Salida, Walsenburg and the Eastern Plains.

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, which is in the midst of a capital campaign to complete construction on a new headquarters that will be anchored by a new 250-seat theater, has been given a $1.3 million bump. That, company officials say, will help the internationally acclaimed company to hire a minimum of 12 new full-time staff members – as well as several neighborhood residents for non-arts related jobs.

The tax-credit program, established in 2024. “fuels more creative jobs, more attainable housing and more cultural gathering spaces and childcare centers across the state,” said Colorado Creative Industries Director Josh Blanchard. He says 58% of all grants support programs in rural areas.

$10 million for Aspen museum

The Aspen Institute has received a $10 million gift from Lynda and Stewart Resnick, co-owners of The Wonderful Company. The funds will support the endowment of the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, which opened in 2022. That’s the first and only facility dedicated to the legacy of artist and designer Herbert Bayer.

The Resnicks have now contributed more than $46 million to the Aspen Institute, which is celebrating its 75th year. (Bayer, who died in 1985, helped to design its campus).

The Bayer Center’s current exhibit, titled “Sculpting the Environment: The Three-Dimensional Art of Herbert Bayer,” focuses on Bayer’s outdoor sculptures and land art.