It’s too much of a stretch to say that the addition of a big-box hardware store signals the destruction of my mountain town, but when Lowe’s opened last week, it was another proverbial nail in the coffin.
The 94,000-square-foot store in Silverthorne represents the latest sign of creeping suburbanization that has turned this semi-isolated community into generic Everytown, U.S.A.
I know I sound like a close-the-door-behind-me curmudgeon when I note that when I moved here in 1998, we all regularly made weekend runs to the Front Range to stock up on cheaper groceries, hardware and auto parts, and it was a badge of honor to have driven yourself through a blizzard down to a Denver hospital after cutting off a (small) limb or accidentally shooting yourself with a shotgun round of rock salt intended to scare off the bears.
There once was a one-stop shop here, Eddie Bear’s, where you could get gas, snack food, liquor, a haircut, guns and ammunition, chainsaw repairs and schmaltzy souvenirs. (I can’t imagine any tourist would have ventured past the doorway of the joint; it was straight out of “Deliverance.”)
Places like Eddie Bear’s have long been replaced by Walgreens and Target and, more recently, Einstein Bagels, Smashburger and Jimmy John’s.
Although some would note that Silverthorne always has been known derisively as the “town with the factory outlet stores,” I thought the place was lost several years ago when neighboring Dillon opened a Bed Bath & Beyond and a Ruby Tuesday in a new strip-mall shopping center along the highway that had the unintended consequence of economically killing its own central business district, hidden a bit off the beaten path.
What we’ve gained in convenience, we’ve certainly lost in character.
And so, with Lowe’s, we’ve once again traded our soul and mountain-town spirit for another bigger-is-better multinational chain that makes my town exactly like 1,700 communities throughout North America.
Town officials — who beamed gleefully at the grand opening — hardly can be blamed: Silverthorne has no property taxes and, as a result, derives almost all of its revenue from sales taxes. And the promise of 100 jobs seems irresistible in this economy.
But just a mile away, a locally owned hardware store has been declining to restock its shelves and laying off employees for the last six months. And the rest of us now face two new traffic signals on the “back route” around town after enduring a few months of road construction in advance of the new Lowe’s — which paid for these “improvements” but will get the money back in the form of generous tax breaks.
I’ve always argued that if businesses want to move into our community so badly, they ought to be forced to play by our rules. But like Target beforehand, Lowe’s even steamrolled the town into waiving its limits on sign size because, according to a company official, it’s part of the “sign package, brand recognition and marketing.”
Many in the community remain opposed to Lowe’s: Nearby residents have sued the town over zoning, and others have complained vociferously that the store will be a drain on local businesses, doesn’t fit in the community, and will create traffic problems.
But there seem to be far more supporters eager to take advantage of perceived “Denver prices” on building and construction supplies and to avoid the 45-minute trip to the nearest Home Depot in Avon or Evergreen.
Still, when I had to replace a $3 toilet flapper last week, I chose not to wander the acres and acres of lighting, flooring, appliances, lumber and tools stacked on the 20-foot-high shelves in Lowe’s, instead opting for one of small local hardware stores still intent on competing. I was in and out in a minute and a half and rewarded with a heartfelt “thanks for shopping with us.”
Steve Lipsher of Silverthorne has worked as a Denver Post reporter and was an editor of the Summit Daily News.
