Taking Steps

We are taking steps to move to Crowsnest Pass. The building we love is both a potential home and potential income. We are spending money like there is no tomorrow and developing our old Brazzoni Building and turning it into Minestead - Holiday Vacation Homes.http://www.minestead.com/

I love creating logos and graphics so now you have to look at this:

Finally we can quit whining and start doing things that help add some charm to Bellevue while getting us one step closer to being able to move.

How to save a shrinking community

Crowsnest Pass is amazing, beautiful, full of historic charm, and experiencing a decline in population. I want to suggest some ideas with my usual lack of logic or order to bring population back to Crowsnest Pass.
1. People need to move here. Wow, and you thought these would be intellectual insights and instead you get the obvious "duuuhhhh" answer. Sometimes the obvious has to be stated.
2. Why do people choose to move? If we can figure out people's motives, we can try to meet them.

• Job opportunities.
• Entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Lifestyle/Ideals.
• Be close to family
• Get away from an unpleasant place
• Facilities: athletes go where they can train, families go where their kids can be kept busy etc.
• Educational Institutions.
• Health. Special clinics or to escape pollutants, allergens.
• Affordability.
• Cool factor.

3. For almost all people, they simply can't just move somewhere - they need to be able to make a living.

4. Business has to be created to bring outside dollars into the region. Tourism brings in outside dollars but has to attract the customer to the area. For true economic benefit, businesses that sell products or services to far reaching and varied regions are most desirable.

5. Crowsnest Pass should work at attracting educational institutions to the area. Say a branch of SAIT or UofL. I'm sure there are niches with education - what are they? What unique features of the Pass would be of interest educationally?

6. Bring education and you lay the foundations for future families and short term prosperity. We all know students are poor yet they throw around money like crazy - great for the area. We also know students need jobs - allowing local industry an endless resource of skilled and unskilled labour.

7. Chase a dream or two. Find a couple things that Crowsnest Pass could be world famous for - besides wind and mountains that fall over. I personally think Crowsnest Pass could be a mountain bike mecca - seems like a tiny thing but research the economic impact of mountain biking on places like Moab, UT, Fruita, CO, Downieville, CA, Kamloops, BC or Whistler, BC. With the proximity to Calgary, Crowsnest Pass could be the most easilly reached affordable cycling mecca in North America. Adventure racing: We already have Full Moon in June, Sinister 7, Trans Rockies etc. Extreme Sports; build facilities for the crazy youth to learn their skills.

8. Now I'm tired: brainstorming done.

How does this work?

I'm not much for blogging. This is my first attempt and I thought after putting my heart and sole (and at least 45 minutes of my valuable time) into this thing - I thought I'd have people emailing saying how they love old buildings or some other flavor of feel goodness.
So how does someone like myself get the message out? Where are other people who love cool old buildings and cool old towns? I know you're out there, when Andrea and I walk around places like Butte, Montana with our jaws dropped in awe we see a few others doing the same. Or Downieville, California - besides being a mountain bike mecca it also drags people from hours away to marvel in its gold-rush-era coolness.
WHERE ARE ALL YOU PEOPLE? Come join me in Crowsnest Pass - lets buy all the unspoiled old buildings and turn this place into heritage eye candy.

Lovin' old commercial buildings

There is something about old-west mining era commercial buildings. There is a generous serving of these buildings across the Western portions of the US and Canada. Unfortunately, many of the areas with these buildings have dying communities where the younger citizens head towards the big cities for education and jobs.

This is my place in Bellevue, Alberta. I bought this in 2006 - basically with no idea of what to do with it but I couldn't stand to see it unappreciated and deteriorating (and the area is basically beautiful and inspiring.)

The original portion of the building was constructed in 1927 by an Italian stone mason with the last name Brazoni. This is one of a couple masonry/brick constructed buildings in Bellevue - the owner had seen much of the town burnt to the ground twice in the previous 25 years.

Since buying the building Andrea (my much better half) and I have started to try to breath some life into the exterior of the building. A frustration I still deal with daily is that the building, if placed in any trendy shopping district would be appreciated, dressed up and making us money. Unfortunately, Bellevue's old downtown is moving toward being a ghost-town. If I had millions of dollars I would buy all the buildings, restore them to their former glory and I'm sure could make financial sense of it all because the town could be such a great tourist trap (while hopefully passing along an appreciation for the history and beauty of so many of these types of towns).

So this is what the building looks like now. The building is my big red & tan bank account - as in, that is where I put my money. Still no "grand plan" but like my business, I can't help but feel like anytime you do something based on passion the money will follow eventually. I'm definitely not working on this place to sell it - much more imagining the place being restored inside and out and hopefully inspiring the surrounding building owners to do the same. At the moment, plans have us converting the space into 4 residential suites with a small commercial space (maybe a gallery/studio) in the front. What time, economic recession, money, trades-workers and dreams will allow is the big unknown.

Hopefully this blog gets some direction

What the heck am I doing here blogging. My business website needs updating and I'm the only person I can afford to do it - so I really should get my ass in gear and do that. I don't know if, after looking at a couple blogs, I feel like I need to pay back the blog world with some words of my own. Who knows.
In the future I imagine whining about owning a bicycle shop, then being thrilled by it. I might talk about how I hate our throw away society and constant push to own more stuff, bigger stuff, stuff that needs plugging in. Then to throw a wrench into the works I'll talk about my love of old buildings - especially commercial buildings and how if I could I'd buy them all, restore them and help budding entrepeneurs put together awesome business plans then occupy my old buildings and put the malls and box-stores out of business.
My thoughts are a tossed salad - one day you get lettuce the next you get tomatoes then cheese then onions. My life is awesome.