Two Parker residents want to share their love of cars with a car museum and garages to host residents’ favorite collector’s vehicles.
Erin and Daniel Dilley have been collecting old and new vehicles for a few years and plan to have their collection — which includes a1906 horse-drawn carriage with a motor, a 1907 Cadillac, a Model T, a 1934 Packard, a 1955 DeSoto, a 1980s-era DeLorean and all sorts of muscle cars — as the main stationary exhibit at The Vault Gallery museum. The museum also will feature a rotating exhibit of different kinds of cars from all eras.
“We love the small-town feel that Parker has, and yet it has the amenities that you need and the sense of community we love and we want to give back to the community,” Erin Dilley said.
The Dilleys said their love of cars goes back as long as they can remember. Daniel said he built off-road vehicles with his dad and Erin remembered talking about driving when she was 12.
They said they started going to car events around the area, which would start and then fail due to an organizer dropping out or lack of interest, and they wanted to create a more permanent home for car lovers in the Parker and south metro area.
“We want to host events, car shows, gatherings for car lovers and different kinds of events,” Daniel said.
The gallery will be about 25,000 square feet, with about 90,000 square feet for the garages and a 3,700-square-foot clubhouse for car owners in the private garages.
“It’s kind of like a country club for the car lovers, in a sense,” Daniel said.
Admission to the museum will be about $12-$15 for adults, and the charge for garage space would be about $155 per square foot.
The Dilleys also hope to partner with several charities on car events, such as the Boy Scouts, the Morgan Adams Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club.
“There are thousands of car events over the state with no centralized location, so bringing them together is key,” Daniel said. “It will bring a greater sense of community to Parker and increase events and impact their economic development, and bring fun and games.”
Groundbreaking on the location at 18301 Lincoln Meadows Parkway took place last week. The Dilleys are hoping to have the museum built by June 2014, with the first phase of garages built in August 2014. Daniel said more garages would be built depending on demand.
Clayton Woullard: 303-954-2671, cwoullard@denverpost.com or
