For years, the dirt lot along Ash Street between 4th and 5th streets was treated as temporary. It served as informal parking behind the Main Street storefronts while developers and the Windsor Downtown Development Authority worked on plans to replace it. The Town of Windsor's 2026 project ends that phase. In its October 27 update, the town said the 5th St. Backlots Project was nearing completion, with roadway striping scheduled to begin October 28.
Most of the money went where nobody parking there will see it. Of roughly $2.68 million in posted budgets, about $257,000 covers the parking lot. The other $2.42 million replaces the water and sewer lines underneath. That split makes sense once you know how the lot became permanent.
A placeholder for most of a decade
The "backlots" are the empty parcels behind several Main Street businesses, running along the train tracks between 4th and 7th streets, north of Main Street and south of Windsor Lake. The Town's downtown revitalization page says the land is split into three parcels. The DDA owns two. The town owns the third, between 6th Street and Highway 257, where the American Legion sits.
Nearly every plan for the site before 2023 assumed the dirt lot would eventually be built on:
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Fort Collins developer Brinkman proposed residential and commercial redevelopment of the backlots |
| 2019 | The Greeley Tribune reported that the Brinkman-era plan included commercial, office and residential uses plus a pedestrian alley, with no groundbreaking date set |
| 2020 | Brinkman withdrew after the project proved financially unviable, and the town chose Windsor-based Tribe Development Group as its next partner |
| July 2022 | Tribe released preliminary renderings of a mixed-use concept |
| Summer 2022 | A citizen petition began collecting signatures for a "Permanent Parking" zone |
| January 24, 2023 | Windsor held a special election on Ballot Measure 200 |
| February 3, 2023 | The town certified the result |
| June 15, 2026 | The lot closed so construction could begin |
| October 28, 2026 | Striping was scheduled to begin as the project neared completion |
The town's revitalization page says Tribe's concept was expected to include approximately 200 residential units, 435 parking spaces and 12,000 square feet of commercial space. In January 2023, the Coloradoan described 200 to 240 apartments, with underground parking for residents and surface parking for businesses. The town and DDA saw the redevelopment as a catalyst. They hoped it would build on the success of Windsor Mill, add year-round customers for Main Street, and bring in sales tax revenue to help pay for future corridor improvements.
The vote that settled it
Residents' petition proposed a different future for the site. It asked for a new "Permanent Parking" zone that would limit the specified property to parking and parking-related uses. The Coloradoan reported in August 2022 that the petition reached the town clerk with 2,933 signatures. It needed 1,283 to qualify.
The January 2023 margin was wider still. According to the Coloradoan's results story, voters passed Measure 200 by 6,957 to 1,629, and nearly 36% of registered Windsor voters cast ballots. The measure rezoned the two DDA-owned parcels. The town-owned parcel farthest west was not part of it.
The Coloradoan summarized the supporters' case in practical terms. Businesses, especially those on the north side of Main Street, needed customers to be able to park near storefronts and restaurants. Delivery trucks and employees needed access to the backs of buildings. Downtown events at Boardwalk Park and Windsor Lake needed somewhere to park. Petition organizer Marissa Banninga told the paper:
"I've lived in Windsor almost my whole life and I've never experienced the level of conversation and passion behind something like this."
DDA chair Dan Stauss, a Main Street business owner, said that night that the board would meet to discuss next steps. Today the town's revitalization page says the mixed-use project is "on hold until further notice."
Where the $2.68 million went
The parking-only zoning removed the uncertainty that had hung over the land for years. The 5th St. Back Lot Parking project page says the work "follows the approval of Windsor's ballot measure 200," and describes the zoning as preventing other types of development on the site. With the lot's use settled, the town's budget went mostly to the parts meant to last:
| Component | Posted budget | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Waterline replacement | $1,320,000 | about 49% |
| Sewer replacement | $1,100,000 | about 41% |
| Parking lot | $257,000 | about 10% |
| Combined | $2,677,000 |
The town says the new lines are meant to meet modern standards and "support future needs." The pavement is meant to give a more stable, durable surface for both parking and walking, with better drainage and accessibility than dirt. Brian Rowe, Windsor's Director of Public Works, is listed as a project contact.
Why the summer detours ran past the lot
Because most of the work was underground, the construction stretched well beyond the lot itself. The town's project alerts show the sequence. In early July, 5th Street closed from Ash Street to Boardwalk Park for waterline replacement under the roadway. That took away the roundabout parking on the south side of Boardwalk Park, the one-way Windsor History Museum lot and some street parking along Ash Street. At the end of July, crews were still installing and testing the new waterline, and sewer installation was about to begin. Surface work could only start after testing was done.
The surface work came next. Lane shifts on Main Street between 3rd and 4th streets began August 24 for parking stall paving. Concrete, paving and roadway restoration closed 5th Street from Ash Street to Boardwalk Park again through September 25. The October 28 striping brought another round of lane shifts on Main Street between 3rd and 4th, with business access kept open.
The June notice expected the lot to stay closed "through September, weather permitting." By late October it was in its final stage.
The first holiday season after the rebuild
Measure 200 supporters made their case partly around events at Boardwalk Park, and the park is the center of the holiday calendar. The Downtown Windsor events calendar lists three dates within walking distance of the rebuilt lot:
- Ugly Sweater Wine Walk, Saturday, November 21, 5 to 8 p.m., downtown
- Jingle & Jammies, Wednesday, December 2, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., downtown
- Windsor Wonderland, Saturday, December 5, 4 to 7 p.m., at 100 N. 5th St.
The Windsor Wonderland address is Boardwalk Park, on the same block of 5th Street that closed twice this summer for the backlots work. The town's Downtown Parking page lists the other parking options it pointed drivers to during construction. For alerts on closures and lane shifts, text WINDSORROADS to 888777.
Downtown Windsor has this lot because of a 6,957 to 1,629 vote in January 2023, and the budget that followed spends about nine of every ten dollars below the pavement. If you'd like to talk through how projects like this one shape the streets around your own home, I'm always glad to hear from you. Kristin Tibbs is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.
