Four Ridgway businesses apply for state grants aimed at easing rent pressure, aiding expansion

For Sally Jo Ocasio, owning The Vault Vintage and Consignment has always been a battle. Since opening the store in 2017, Ocasio has operated in both Ouray and Ridgway, having occupied and left five different spaces due to water damage and mold, a fire, ever-rising rents and growth.

When Ocasio’s current landlord, Susan Baker, increased her rent from $2,200 to $2,500 moving forward and listed the building for sale in 2021, the situation became untenable.

“It’s almost like a post-pandemic flux that we’re going through with a lot of inflation, (increased) cost of living and rents, especially on the commercial front. I think a lot of the old landlords have decided to finally cash in on their investments,” Ocasio said. “Unfortunately, that includes the sale of our building here, then maybe some rent increases to try to glean as much as they can. It’s not really sustainable.”

Facing displacement for the fifth time, she wondered if she would have to operate her business from home and face the prospect of becoming a fully online-based business.

That’s when Tera Wick, the town of Ridgway’s community initiatives facilitator, approached her with a possible solution: grant funding from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s Community Business Preservation Program.

That program will allow The Vault and three other Ridgway businesses to jointly apply with the town for grants worth between $10,000 and $50,000, allowing them to weather potential rent increases and expand their offerings.

“It’s kind of the perfect thing to help with the plight that I’m in, so working with Tera and (Ridgway FUSE) and the other businesses that are also applying has been super great,” Ocasio said, “Regardless if we get it or not, it’s just been a really good way to play on a better future and make some sustainable moves toward that.”

Ridgway FUSE’s review committee, consisting of Guthrie Castle, Alison Etheridge, Donna Jaffe, Ridgway Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ashley Perkins and Wick, ultimately chose Cora Fitness, Ridgway Pilates, Ridgway Wrench and The Vault. The businesses are located in three different buildings owned by three different landlords.

The committee determined those four businesses would most likely be competitive based on how closely they aligned with OEDIT’s funding criteria. It also focused on businesses most likely to lose their livelihood to increasing rents and short lease terms and those most exemplifying Ridgway’s community values including sustainability and health.

The town also received letters of interest from Mojo’s Coffee in Ouray, the Ouray County Ranch History Museum, the Ridgway Railroad Museum and Rootwings Art.

Wick said the decision to exclude those four businesses wasn’t personal and, while difficult, was made to present the strongest possible application to OEDIT.

“My tendency is to want to include everybody, kind of the more, the merrier,” Wick said. “Those are all really valued and important businesses that we will continue to support whenever we can. But when we looked at the criteria and the descriptions those businesses gave us about their situation, it seemed clear that they probably weren’t going to be competitive for this particular opportunity.”

OEDIT will select five to seven main streets, corridors or geographically close groups of businesses after a two-month review process. Two to six businesses within those communities will receive the grant funding, unique training and other support.

If awarded, the town will also receive a small grant to assist the grant process during its lifetime. That grant’s value will depend on the number and value of grants awarded to the four businesses.

Organizations cannot use funding to pay principal officers, board or family members who are not bona fide employees, employees more than they earned on a weekly or monthly basis compared to last year or employee bonuses, among other ineligible uses.

OEDIT will announce winners by the end of March and award funding between this April and April 2026. Depending on the community, that funding pe- riod could last a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years.

In addition to covering increasing rent costs or buying space of their own, participants said they plan to use that funding to expand their businesses.

Ridgway Wrench owner Nate Miller, who has owned and operated the bicycle repair shop for nearly seven years in the same building owned by Baker, said he wanted to grow and electrify his rental bike fleet and expand his repair shop area. A potential move to a new location in Ridgway is also under consideration.

When asked what it would mean for his shop if the state doesn’t select Ridgway’s application, Miller said he wasn’t overly concerned about his prospects, adding those improvements would go on the “back burner.”

The fact that he owns the only dedicated bicycle repair shop in Ouray County also doesn’t hurt.

“(Receiving the grant) just means more years of you not necessarily scraping by. You want to see an increase in gross revenue every year as you’re in business.” Miller said. “For me personally, it’s been pretty exceptional having a bike shop here in Ouray County as a needed service.”

Ocasio said she would also use that funding to hire a web designer, purchase photography and editing equipment and buy fixtures for remote and pop-up sales.

Despite that talk of expansion and new equipment, one of the program’s primary purposes remains helping small businesses face displacement pressures.

In an emailed statement, OEDIT spokesperson Alissa Johnson said the department launched the Community Business Preservation Program last year. She declined to answer the Plaindealer’s question about whether the program could give landlords an incentive to continue raising rents in exchange for taxpayer funding.

OEDIT Special Projects Director Leslie Hylton-Hinga did not respond to multiple requests for comment via phone and email about the program.

For some landlords like Baker, who has owned the property Ocasio and Miller’s shops currently occupy since 1989, those properties are long-term investments constituting a nest egg of sorts.

Baker told the Plaindealer she decided to list the property in 2021 when she retired at age 78, wanting to take advantage of a potential multi-million dollar sale. According to Baker, she initially built the property for $200,000 in 1989 and made additions and improvements over the years.

She blamed increasing property taxes for her recent rent increases, saying her property taxes have nearly doubled in recent years. Property records indicate Baker will pay nearly $14,700 in property taxes on the 380 Sherman St. property after paying just over $9,200 last year — a 59% single-year increase.

Baker said those increases forced her hand after attempting to offer affordable rents for the first 30 years she owned the property.

“The increase in taxes has really hurt us in our community. I’m living off the rent now, but now I have a few people moving out for various reasons,” Baker said. “Right now I’m working on renting the spaces again, and I think there won’t be a problem because it’s a great location. But I’m getting offered different things as far as selling, and I’m not quite sure yet what I want to accept.”