Wheat Ridge City Council is one of the first donors to an expansion of the 18-month-old Clear Creek Marketplace. They agreed to a $30,000 request from Localworks, a nonprofit organization focused on the city’s economic development.
Executive Director Paige Piper, reading from a prepared statement at the council’s Sept. 8 meeting, called the $350,000 expansion “one of the largest initiatives that Localworks has launched…”
The Clear Creek Makerspace (CCM) began operation with a March 30, 2024, grand opening at 9110 W. 44th Ave., a former parks and recreation building. It also previously housed the Copa Cabana nightclub and a teen center.
CCM is a membership-based community workshop and launchpad for innovation and entrepreneurship. Workshops have included wood- and metalworking, electronics, textiles and general tools, with over 300 machines and tools available.
Piper told the council that over the first 17 months of operation, the makerspace:
• Served over 350 members and now has 240 active members;
• Had 32,948 people visit and interact;
• Trained 1,700 people on equipment or technology that had a direct effect on better career opportunities for those individuals;
• Offered 790 classes; and
• Helped four businesses file licenses with the city, “a direct correlation of the learning and growing that is happening inside CCM,” Piper added.
“…Although this is a brief illustration,” Piper added, “our impact will not be brief and in order to keep up with the demand CCM now has, it’s time for us to expand. Literally, CCM is beginning to burst at the seams when it comes to the amount of usage we are seeing, especially the space used for the many entrepreneurs that we have working in the space that are starting or maintaining their small businesses.”
Piper said the council’s donation will help pay for architectural drawings of the expansion.
More money, more training, city economy may benefit
To be known as the “CCM Creative Commons” the project will include an additional 800 amps of electricity; allow shipping containers to be outfitted with insulation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, doors, windows, electrical connections and wiring and a foundation for the commons.
“This expansion will allow CCM to double our current capacity, increase our revenues by 25% and serve and train an additional 1,000 people a year on key workforce development skills specific to trades, a need that needs desperate attention in Jefferson County,” Piper said.
She also noted the expansion highlighted a partnership with the city and the recently-adopted City Plan that includes an effort to see if shipping containers can be a viable option for commercial expansion in Wheat Ridge.
In an email to the Gazette, Piper wrote that Localworks plans to launch a naming rights campaign in early 2026 to raise 60% of the needed money. Grants will be sought to raise the remaining 40% for the project. Those interested in naming rights opportunities and learning about the campaign and expansion plans can email Piper at ppiper@wearelocalworks.org.
Outdoor work space, micro-studios, shipping containers part of plan
“Expanding Innovation: A Proposed Outdoor Creative Commons at the Clear Creek Makerspace”, a Localworks document, noted CCM’s “unexpected but welcome popularity shows that we’ve far exceeded our anticipated growth. As a result, our 7,500-square-foot indoor space is at full capacity, limiting opportunities for new projects and businesses, particularly those looking to leverage CCM’s focus on small business incubation and entrepreneurship.”
The document explained the advantages of expansion and proposed plans:
• The expansion would convert underutilized outdoor space immediately south of the building “into a vibrant outdoor Creative Commons as a means to amplify our impact on local economic development and small business growth.”
• Outdoor work spaces would be available for “high-impact creative activities” and 13 rentable modular micro-studios for small business incubation.
• Shipping containers function like modular LEGO blocks, “allowing easy expansion or reconfiguration based on demand. This means CCM can start with 13 units and scale up as interest and impact grows, as demonstrated with The Exchange in Fort Collins, or locally with the PatioBox, the Art Can, and the larger-scale 25th and Larimer development (all in RiNo).”
• A 10-foot-by-10-foot private studio or one of two cubicles in a shared 20-foot-by-10-foot shared space offers an affordable alternative, reducing the cost barrier to starting a business.
• Shipping container workspaces have been successful in cities like San Francisco, Detroit and Denver as viable options for small business incubation.
• The economic return on investment of the Creative Commons is “significant,” benefiting Wheat Ridge’s job market, tax revenue and business landscape.
• Without affordable workspaces, local entrepreneurs and artists relocate to Denver or Boulder. A dedicated Creative Commons keeps talent in Wheat Ridge, strengthening the city’s creative economy and small-business sector. Having a business-friendly ecosystem attracts outside entrepreneurs, positioning Wheat Ridge as a hub for innovation and small manufacturing.
