For years, the doors to Montrose Adaptive Development Association sat mostly closed — its future uncertain, its purpose fading. Once a vibrant hub rooted in Chicano pride and self-sufficiency, the nonprofit had, over time, narrowed its scope to emergency services and homelessness response. But in the last four years, under new leadership, MADA has undergone a quiet but powerful transformation.
And it is becoming again what it once was — a place for the whole community.
Today, MADA, located at 17 N. 6th St. in the Tortilla Flats neighborhood, operates a fully booked commercial kitchen that serves as both a gathering space and business incubator. It offers children’s cooking classes in the summer and hosts family celebrations most weekends.
Those are just newer services, on top of the many other things MADA does for the community, such as helping seniors with their taxes.
Soon, if all goes as planned, MADA will expand into downtown to create a larger economic development hub for food entrepreneurs, preserving the organization’s legacy while reimagining its role in the community into the future.
A return to roots
Founded in 1972 as the Mexican-American Development Association, MADA was built by the hands of its community during the Chicano movement — a time when cultural identity and self-determination were central to the mission. Its early focus included bilingual education, community organizing, voter registration drives, housing advocacy and hands-on programs that empowered working families.
By 1985, its Low-Cost Weatherization program had weatherized more than 600 homes. MADA also played a critical role in the development of Anciano Towers, a senior housing project that remains a staple in Montrose today.
But over time, the organization lost momentum. It became known more for homelessness services than cultural or community development. A reliance on one federal grant and lack of board engagement left little room to expand programming. Even the building — physically built by the community — had become rundown and largely inaccessible.
Bethany Maher, then a community engagement specialist with the City of Montrose, noticed.
“The people in this community were saying: we want our community center back,” Maher said. “And the doors were closed.”
But, birthday parties and other celebratory events are being held regularly at MADA’s community center.
From volunteer to visionary
Maher left her city job during the pandemic to care for her children — but not to walk away from MADA. Instead, she stepped in as a volunteer, helping untangle finances and reimagine the mission. At the time, MADA’s bank account was in the negative, and the organization was just staying afloat.
Maher declined nearly $90,000 in emergency funding to avoid federal restrictions, secured half a million dollars in private grants, and eventually became the nonprofit’s only paid employee.
“I never planned to stay,” she said. “But once we started making progress — once I saw what this place could become again — I couldn’t walk away.”
Listening to her talk about it, it’s not hard to believe: Maher is committed. She has served as executive director for the organization for the last few years now.
A kitchen with purpose
Before the kitchen in the MADA building was launched, that section of the building was underutilized — a mix of former bathrooms, closets, and unused rooms that weren’t serving the community. Maher and her board saw an opportunity to breathe life back into the space by creating something that could empower others.
MADA’s thriving commercial kitchen now hosts more than a dozen tenants. Julie Potts of Dutch Girl Kitchen is among them.
“This is my first day here,” Potts said. “But already I can tell it’s going to change everything.”
Other tenants include hot dog cart owners, a pupusa business, a gelato maker and a catering company — all supported by MADA’s intentionally low rental rates and inclusive approach.
“It’s about increasing power — giving people access and opportunity,” Maher said.
Outgrowing success
With the kitchen at full capacity, MADA is preparing for its most ambitious project yet: a downtown expansion at 27 N Cascade Ave, the site of Kilbane’s Dry Cleaners and a neighboring cell phone repair shop.
The organization is under contract to purchase both buildings, which sit on separate parcels but will be transformed into a unified hub for food entrepreneurs and small businesses. The cell phone shop space is expected to come online first, serving as a new kitchen and business incubator for tenants who have outgrown the current location or need more space for production and retail. The other half of the space — the former dry cleaner building — will eventually house a café-style service area, pop-up restaurant space, and grab-and-go retail coolers. Plans also include flexible office space for partner organizations and small business support services. MADA envisions the building as a hub for lunch and dinner service, weekend events, and community gatherings. for tenants who have outgrown the current location or need more space for production and retail.
“The idea is to create a full-scale food service and manufacturing hub,” Maher said. “One side will be a commercial kitchen where people can prep, cook, and manufacture products like sauces or pasta. The other will support pop-up restaurants, grab-and-go meals, and café-style service. It’s part downtown revitalization, part economic development, and part cultural celebration.”
Among those expected to benefit from the expansion is Jenny Pezica, an Italian food entrepreneur who will manufacture fresh pasta and sauces in a temporary kitchen at MADA before eventually moving into the downtown space.
The project’s vision also includes partnerships with Colorado Mesa University’s culinary program and CSU Extension, allowing students and trainees to gain hands-on experience in a community-based setting.
But the path is complex. The dry cleaner building, which originally housed Montrose’s first post office, will require a long-term environmental cleanup. Maher said the site may take years to remediate completely due to chemical contamination from its decades as a dry cleaning facility. MADA is working with consultants and state agencies to navigate the Brownfield cleanup process and will pursue historic designation, tax credits, and federal grants to support renovation costs, which are estimated between $1.5 and $2 million.
The goal is to close on the buildings by fall 2025, with phased renovations starting shortly thereafter.
“It’s about giving people a shot,” Maher said. “This space will give our entrepreneurs a platform to grow their businesses and share their culture, while creating new energy downtown. We needed this yester
Restoring identity in Tortilla Flats
At the same time, Montrose Adaptive Development Association (MADA) is working to uplift its own neighborhood — Tortilla Flats — and restore the cultural identity that once defined it. That includes hosting events like Fiesta at La Raza Park and planning visual enhancements that reconnect the area to its roots.
One of those enhancements will come in the form of a new mural — a $21,000 piece that will be painted on the side of MADA’s building. Funded in part by a $10,000 grant from the City of Montrose’s mural program, the artwork will be created by Grand Junction-based artist Jeremy Velasquez and will depict a child holding a fish near the river.
The image is more than symbolic — it’s drawn directly from the lived experiences of Tortilla Flats residents, whose lives have long been connected to the nearby Uncompahgre River.
“For a lot of us, it was a place to go fish and hang out with other kids in the neighborhood,” said Montrose City Council member and MADA board member Ed Ulibarri, when talking on the subject at a DART meeting Tuesday morning. “Some of the older folks would just bring a little chair and sit on the rocks, maybe not catch anything, but talk and spend time together. The river brought the community together.”
Ulibarri said the mural serves not only as a reflection of Tortilla Flats but also of Montrose as a whole — a community built along the river.
MADA now also houses a community garden. Community members are welcome to garden in planter boxes on the side of MADA’s building.
Preserving stories, building future
As part of its cultural preservation efforts, MADA is also wrapping up its Tortilla Flats Oral History Project. The interview phase is complete, but the nonprofit is now seeking video footage of everyday life in the neighborhood — birthday parties, baseball games, community gatherings.
Anyone with relevant footage is encouraged to email director@montrosemada.org, call 719-293-5044, or message MADA on Facebook.
“I think the story here,” Maher said, “is that this organization found its purpose again. Not by going back, but by listening to what the community needs now. And doing the hard work to meet it.”
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
