The Montgomery Ward is going to be replaced again!

Derby Club Coming Soon Sign in front of the former Montgomery Ward - Optopolis

You may well recognize this building as Montgomery Ward! The building is now in the process of getting replaced once again!

Some background

The Pershing Blvd Montgomery Ward building was built in the year 1964 according to the property assessor. Archived photos confirm that Montgomery Ward once occupied a building in Downtown Cheyenne that today is the 17th and Central Executive Suites, and that older building was built in 1924 according to the property assessor.

Main (south) entry into the Wyoming Department of Workforce - Optopolis

There's much in-between-history that (at this time) isn't quite clear here at Optopolis, but it is known the building was converted into offices, used by many different things including but not limited to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Wyoming Department of Family Services, OSHA, and Vocational Rehabilitation.

By May of 2019, the Department of Workforce Services began the process of renovating the Sutherlands, former Kmart, located on Yellowstone Road; this was only a few months after site plans had been submitted late in the year 2018. By October, the former Sutherlands building had been fully renovated and converted into office space, and the Department of Workforce Services began operating out of the new space.

Sutherlands building after Sutherlands closed -Google Maps Street View

Sutherlands building in May 2019 when renovations were underway -Optopolis

This left most of the Pershing Montgomery Ward building vacant, although a recent visit to the area confirms that the Department of Family Services is still in the space, and some other offices may still be being used by various other services.

Renovations of the Montgomery Ward Begin

Earlier this year, various site plans were submitted at the site of Pershing's former Montgomery Ward. They include but are not limited the following:

  • Liquor Store and Lounge (initially submitted in February), and
  • Gaming Center (initially submitted in March)

The Liquor Store and Lounge is set to take over the western-most section of the building, west of the Family Services offices, and is set to have an entry on the south edge near the former Workforce Department's main west entry.

Western entries into the building, fencing surrounding part of the building - Optopolis

The gaming center (Derby Club/307 Horse Racing) on the other hand, is set to take over roughly the SE quarter of the building. That portion of the building has already been fully renovated, and gaming machines are already placed inside of the building.

It's worth mentioning that a note on one of the site plans does indicate that the liquor store and gaming center are set to be operated as two separate businesses.

There's still more space inside of this building that is for lease! What other businesses would you like to see take over parts of the building? Let us know in the comments!

Originally posted: 7/16/2022 Sat 17:49

Update: 07/16/2022 19:20 - Removed a photo that has bugged out and refuses to display on the public page for unknown reasons. Also made a minor edit to the grammar in the sentence about the two spaces being operated as separate businesses.

Location: Cheyenne, WY, USA

Comments

Post a Comment
Get new posts by email:

follow.it Follow/Subscription feed is powered by follow.it.

Popular posts from this blog

Sprouts Farmers Market is coming to Cheyenne! First Wyoming location!

Image
Truck sits in front of Bed Bath and Beyond while construction work takes place inside - Optopolis Cheyenne is getting a new competitor in the grocery store market! Sprouts Farmers Market is in the process of setting up shop in the former Bed Bath and Beyond. The space has already been gutted! A glance at the Bed Bath and Beyond space If you've been following the journey here at Optopolis, you probably already know this story, so here's a quick run-down of the history of Bed Bath and Beyond as it relates to Cheyenne. Building built 2007 according to property assessor, part of the then-Cheyenne Marketplace Bed Bath and Beyond would be the original tenant of its space In the first week of February 2023, BB&B was silently announced to close Final day was on Apr 23, 2023, the same day BB&B filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Spirit Halloween set up shop for the 2023 season, opening in August and closing shortly after Halloween Spirit Halloween inside of Cheyenne's Bed Bath ...
Read more

Dutch Bros Coffee is coming to Cheyenne (for real)

Image
Dutch Bros Coffee sign on the North Lincoln Avenue location in Loveland, Colorado - Optopolis That's right, Dutch Bros Coffee is trying again, and it looks significantly more promising this time around! A Dutch Bros location is slated to be built along East Pershing Boulevard just west of the Pershing Marketplace. Previous events with Dutch Bros and Cheyenne Back in late 2021, site plans visible in the Cheyenne City Planning and Development website indicated the old Dell Range Rolando's Mexican Grill would be demolished and that Dutch Bros was planning to build a restaurant there. View of former Rolando's on Dell Range - Optopolis About a year later in late 2022, there was a "Building Permit Reimbursement" item added to one of the permits, requesting closure of the account and reimbursement of the building permit at the site of the former Fernando's. Not long after, the former Fernando's was put back on the market, and a temporary sign advertising the lo...
Read more

Old Chicago closes Cheyenne restaurant!

Image
Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom sign illuminated after closing on the final day - Optopolis This was quite last minute, but it's true. Cheyenne's Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom permanently closed yesterday evening, at least an hour before their normal closing time of 10 PM on Sundays. A glance at the history of it According to Old Chicago's about page , Old Chicago dates back to its 1976 founding in Boulder, Colorado. They brag about their "tavern thin and classic thick crust pizzas" and their "110 local and legendary beers." Here at Optopolis, their pizza and broccoli-cheese soup (pictured below) were go-to items to eat in visits to the restaurant throughout the years. "I think this was the first place I ever tried the broccoli and cheddar soup," recalls Optopolis while recording a brief video clip. "I don't think I tried anywhere else before that, as far as I remember." The Laramie County Property assessor notes that Cheyenne...
Read more