The Wyoming Economic Development Association recognized Lander businessman Cade Maestas and Torrington’s Cobblestone Hotel project with awards at the Wyoming Working Together conference held in Evanston Sept. 19-21.
Maestas, a co-founder of Maven Outdoor Equipment and the current President of the Lander City Council, received the Linda Hewitt Memorial Community Development Award, given annually to recognize contributions to economic development and community improvement.
Maestas founded the Lander Economic Development Association and was instrumental in the effort to finance and build a new Community Center after the old one was destroyed by fire. He played an important role in negotiations to bring reliable air service to Fremont County, high speed broadband service to Lander, and lease agreements for the formation of Enterprise Industrial Park.
Torrington’s Cobblestone Hotel received the Innovation Award, which recognizes participants and celebrates the partnerships, innovative aspects and impact of a Wyoming economic development project. The $6.5 million project is being constructed on a blighted property and will support the county’s tourism and event economy. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in August, with opening scheduled for spring 2019. The 54-bed hotel will bring 12 new jobs and have an economic impact of $435,000 in tax revenues for the state of Wyoming and $315,000 for the City of Torrington over a five-year period.
The Cobblestone Hotel is a public-private partnership that included MoFi, Cobblestone Community Investor Group, BriMark Builders, LLC, Wyoming Business Council, the Goshen County Economic Development Corporation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.