The Plan · Brought to Colfax by the Historic Colfax Downtown Association
Drawing the next chapter, together.
A national design grant, a team of award-winning designers, and a town full of opinions. Here's how it works, and how to be part of it.
What is Fieldwork?
A team that's done this before.
Our events proved people will come to Colfax. Fieldwork is how we make sure there's more here when they do.
Fieldwork is a national program from Building Common Ground, a collaborative of rural designers and planners co-led by Epicenter in Green River, Utah, and To Be Done Studio in Washington, D.C. It's funded by the Mellon Foundation's Humanities in Place program, and it builds on more than three decades of the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design, a former National Endowment for the Arts program that helped small towns plan their futures.
The Historic Colfax Downtown Association applied for Fieldwork and won it for Colfax, one of just 20 rural and Tribal communities chosen nationwide. From now through 2027, that means up to $60,000 in design work from award-winning architects and designers, plus a coach to guide us.
They don't arrive with a plan already drawn. As the program's co-founder put it, "Fieldwork begins with showing up and listening." They'll spend time here, hear from residents and business owners, and help shape what they hear into design concepts, drawings and a roadmap the town can use to raise money and get projects built.
HCDA leads the process. Colfax owns the plan. We secured the grant and are leading the work in partnership with the City, but the plan belongs to everyone who calls Colfax home.
Who's behind Fieldwork
- Brought to Colfax by
- The Historic Colfax Downtown Association
- Led by
- Building Common Ground (Epicenter and To Be Done Studio)
- Funded by
- The Mellon Foundation, Humanities in Place
- Built on
- 30+ years of the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design
- The cohort
- 20 rural and Tribal communities, including Colfax
- The timeline
- 2026 through 2027
Meet our design team before their visit this winter.
Learn more about Fieldwork →
The plan, step by step
Where we are
| When | Step | Status |
|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | We applied for Fieldwork | ✓ Done |
| Spring 2026 | Colfax selected as one of 20 communities | ✓ Done |
| September 2026 | Presented the project to City Council | ✓ Done |
| October 2026 | Fieldwork Summit in Green River, Utah | ✓ Done |
| Fall 2026 | Forming the Steering Committee and mapping Colfax's assets | You are here |
| January 2027 | The design team comes to Colfax | Next |
| 2027 | Community sessions: your ideas become designs | |
| 2027 | Draft concepts shared for your feedback | |
| By end of 2027 | The final plan goes to City Council for adoption |
What the plan will tackle
Six big ideas on the table
Gateways & wayfinding
Welcome signs, gateway arches and Main Street banners that tell I-80 drivers and Amtrak riders they've arrived somewhere worth stopping, and lead them downtown.
Heritage storytelling
Murals, plaques and installations that tell all of Colfax's stories: the Nisenan Maidu people, the Chinese workers who built the railroad, the Gold Rush and the orchards that filled the Fruit Exchange.
A stronger historic district
Expanding the Downtown Colfax Historic District so property owners can tap preservation incentives. Led by the City.
Places to gather
Colfax already has them: Roy Toms Plaza, Arbor Park and Depot Park. The plan will look at how these spaces can work harder for the town, so concerts, markets and ordinary evenings always have a home downtown.
Empty buildings, filled
Turning vacant storefronts into businesses, the way the Fruit Exchange came back.
One Colfax brand
A “Historic Colfax” identity and funding campaign to pay for the signs, murals and storytelling, and to tell the world what's here.
How to plug in
Come to the table
Community sessions start after the design team's visit this winter. You don't have to wait to get involved.
How your ideas become the plan
- You
- Public Advisory Board
- Steering Committee
- HCDA core team
- Design team
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Public Advisory Board | Community brainstorming sessions, open to everyone. This is where Colfax’s ideas get on the table. |
| Steering Committee | Sorts through what the community shared, weighs the options and advises HCDA’s core team on which direction to take. |
| HCDA core team | Leads the process, works directly with the designers and carries the community’s direction into the plan. |
| Design team | Turns it all into concepts, drawings and a roadmap. |
Ways to get involved now
Join the Steering Committee
Help weigh the community’s ideas and advise our core team on which way the plan should go. We’re looking for downtown business owners, property owners and residents who can commit time through 2027.
Join the Public Advisory Board
Come to community brainstorming sessions and help put ideas on the table. Open to everyone who cares about Colfax.
Take the 5-minute survey
What you love about downtown, what’s missing, and what you’d build if you could.
Share your story
Old photos, family history, memories of Main Street. The plan will tell Colfax’s story, and it needs yours.
Find us at an event
Our team is at the Colfax Bazaar and other downtown events. Come say hello and tell us what you think in person.
Lend a hand
Help at events, take photos, spread the word or help with outreach.
Fund the comeback.
The grant pays for the plan. Building it takes all of us. Fieldwork covers the design work. The signs, murals and storytelling that come out of it will need funding, and so does the work of getting there. The Historic Colfax Downtown Association is a 501(c)(3), and gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.