From Vision to Main Street Reality: A Partnership with Parachute, Colorado

When the Town of Parachute first connected with Ayres in 2022, the goal was simple but ambitious: reimagine downtown as a vibrant, people-first place where the community could gather and connect. What began as a high-level concept design quickly became something more – a long-term partnership built on collaboration, creativity, and practical delivery.

Together, the team set out to think big. Early conversations centered on placemaking, re-envisioning the downtown corridor, and engaging the community in shaping its future. Through workshops and conversations with business owners, stakeholders, and town leaders, a vision took shape – one that balanced innovation with local identity.

As the work evolved, so did the approach. The same Ayres team that helped spark those early ideas stayed closely involved as the project moved into engineering and design. What started as bold concepts transitioned into detailed solutions – refining turning radii, aligning with Colorado Department of Transportation requirements, and selecting materials and lighting that would bring the vision to life in a buildable way.

For Town Manager Travis Elliott, that continuity – and the way disciplines worked together – made all the difference.

“It’s seamless to me. I don’t necessarily make the distinction between ‘Well, Nathan’s the engineer and David’s the landscape architect. I’m going to ask David this question, leave Nathan off this email.’ I include them all, and I think it definitely adds a lot of synergies and balance to the decision-making process, which is fantastic,” Elliott said.

This integrated approach became especially valuable for a small community like Parachute, where in-house staffing resources are limited. Instead of juggling multiple consultants, the town could rely on one connected team – tapping into planning, landscape architecture, transportation, civil, mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering, survey, and subsurface utility engineering expertise under one roof.

“We’re a really small community, so we don’t have a lot of those expertise positions in-house. Even our town engineer, for example, is a contracted position,” Elliott explained. “With a small team, being able to tap into the different facets that Ayres brings to the table is huge because we don’t have that in-house. If we had to go out to bid each time a separate one of those things popped up… the time and inefficiencies would probably hamstring a project like this – possibly kill it.”

And that efficiency translated directly into outcomes. Creative ideas were strengthened – not constrained – by technical expertise. Visionary renderings and targeted engagement built community excitement, while engineering rigor brought those ideas down to earth in a way that could actually be constructed.

The result is a project that’s more than just a plan on paper. The First Street downtown project is poised to transform Parachute’s Main Street into a welcoming, functional, and engaging space – one that reflects both the community’s aspirations and real-world needs.

Through it all, one theme remains constant: collaboration.

“This is, in my opinion, the most meaningful work you can do,” Elliott said, referring to transforming a community and impacting people’s quality of life. “It’s really cool, and it’s really rewarding and fulfilling work. I’m happy to be part of it, and I hope Ayres is too.”

David Land, landscape architect on the project, echoed that sentiment from the Ayres team’s perspective.

“Oh, we’re definitely excited to be part of this kind of teamwork,” Land said. “Helping communities turn big ideas into real places people can enjoy is exactly the kind of work that energizes us every day.”