Retention committee helps Colorado business Black & Read as it moves to new Arvada location
A popular business in Arvada is moving locations but staying in town thanks to assistance from the Colorado city. Black & Read has been located on Wadsworth Boulevard for decades but it is now moving down the street to a larger space.
On Monday part of the store that sells vinyl records was being cleared out while the other half -- which sells everything from books to board games -- was still bustling and full of activity. Owner Kari Bakken tried to keep everything organized as moving carts were going in and out of the front door.
"(We are) trying not to get distracted by really cool things you forgot you had," she said.
Bakken and her brother have owned the store for a couple of years. She has worked for Black & Read for over 20. But lately, the space has needed an upgrade and they decided they were going to move away from their longtime location.
"There are very few properties out there that would meet the size requirement that we'd need," she told CBS Colorado. "We have to go bigger than we are now and we're already almost 10,000 square feet here."
They didn't want to leave Arvada, but had the right proposition come along it would've been hard to say no to. But thankfully for Bakken, she knew of a part of Arvada's Economic Development Association that might be able to help streamline the process and keep them in town.
"The last couple of years I've gotten more involved in the chamber and now I'm on the retention committee, and we've visited other places and I didn't realize I would be calling Iza for a retention visit myself," said Bakken, referring to the economic development association's executive director Iza Petrykowska.
What exactly is a retention committee? It's a special group that is part of the Association that comprises 12 individuals representing different business all over town. The Economic Development Association is separate from the city or the Chamber of Commerce, operating with the goal of doing what is needed and keeping a running dialogue with small shops and big businesses in Arvada to figure out how to keep them in their locations.
"(We find out) what pain points they're having," said Petrykowska. "(We find out) how we can help them. If they're looking for different sites, we can help them through the internal city process from permitting to development reviews."
In Black & Read's case, it meant helping them along in the process to finding a better location just down the road but still in Arvada. The business remains, its customers get to continue shopping there and the city retains a place that has become a centerpiece of the music, literature, and gaming community.
"Having an association that cares about keeping you in Arvada and keeping you healthy is amazing," Bakken concluded.
Black & Read's new address will be 6655 Wadsworth Boulevard.
