NEDERLAND, Colo. — A year after the devastating fire at the Caribou Village Shopping Center, John Thompson has risen from the ashes across the street.
“When tragedy just like this strikes, you really have to keep moving,” Thompson said.
For the past twelve years, he was a familiar face to customers looking for last-minute outdoor essentials at the shopping center.
“Just kind of a catch-all for all the little things,” he said.
That briefly came to a halt when the fire broke out last October.
“I was woken up at 4 o'clock in the morning by a friend of mine texting me,” he recalled. “She said, ‘There's smoke coming from the fire from the shopping center.’”
The building was a total loss.
Almost a year to the day, Tebo Properties, which owns the site, is submitting permits to build a brand-new complex.
Operations manager Ben Myers said the new Caribou Village site will go above and beyond the fire code using fire-resistant materials and state-of-the-art fire sprinklers to avoid another tragedy down the line.
“One of our main goals is to bring back our previous tenants, and work with a lot of local unique businesses to make Caribou Village what it used to be for this town and this community,” said Tebo Properties operations manager Ben Myers.
The old building was a mainstay for the Town of Nederland’s local economy — home to a third of the community’s retail space. That’s why rebuilding is essential, according to Myers.
“There were art galleries, restaurants. This is kind of where Nederland gathered,” Myers said.
Moving forward on rebuilding proved to be an uphill battle.
Disputes over asbestos testing with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stalled demolition progress for several months after the fire.
The site was finally cleared about a month ago.
Tebo Properties hopes to get as many original tenants back on board once the new space is completed in a few years — many of which provided crucial services to town residents.
“We had the only laundromat in Nederland in our shopping center, and we're trying to bring that back,” Myers said. “Hopefully we get kind of an expedited permit process, and then our goal is to break ground come spring.”
As Thompson looks back on the past year, he reflects on the outpouring of community support.
“I couldn't walk around town without somebody running across the street and hugging me, saying, ‘John. How are you doing?’ and putting money in my hand, which I felt really weird about. But I realized pretty quick that's all they could really do,” he said.
Thompson is looking forward to seeing what emerges from the rubble.
"I'm hoping a lot of the businesses previously there will come back, but it'll be a really good thing," Thompson said.
