Hello, New South End. And the new North Tejon Street neighborhood.

It was an event to experience new downtown communities and to welcome the first men to a special public meeting of Artemis Women.

The Jan. 17 “Creating Neighborhoods” at Tim Gill Center for Public Media drew an overflow crowd of people.

The gathering was a project of Kathy Loo, one of the founders of Artemis, which for 11 years has motivated women to become involved in community as it “tries to make Colorado Springs a better place.” Loo teamed with Darsey Nicklasson, with whom she is developing Blue Dot Place, an apartment complex for urban professionals being constructed on Nevada Avenue south of Costilla Street.

Blue Dot, said project manager Nicklasson, is designed to “not just be a place to put your stuff,” but one where active residents can wash off their mountain bikes in the main-level garage and stop in next door at the new Iron Bird Brewing Co. As the plan for New South End evolved, Nicklasson set out to meet the business owners of her new neighborhood, several of whom were at the presentation and who also now meet for happy hours to talk about their area.

Also on hand was Lawrence Wagner, kiddingly dubbed “2B.” That will be his new home when Blue Dot Place opens and Wagner leaves suburbia on the east side of Colorado Springs, where he hasn’t felt connected.

On the north end of the downtown Tejon Street corridor is a new, intermingled community centered near Boulder Street, Wild Goose Meeting House and Epicentral Coworking.

Epicentral’s manager, Frank Frey, introduced vegan cookbook author and Gazette dining reviewer JL Fields, who described not having a “deep community” while living in New York but finding it here where she has availability of the resources needed to produce cookbooks within a community of co-workers. This has led to unexpected vegan pop-up markets and her development of a Colorado Springs Nonfiction Writers group with 60 members.

Musician Kyle Gregory, who also utilizes Epicentral Coworking, has found a home at “The Goose,” the comfortable gathering spot/coffee house/restaurant much like those he was partial to in Italy. There’s always someone you know, he told the crowd. Also representing Wild Goose was co-owner Russ Ware, who was kept busy answering questions about the meeting destination.

The panel said there’s such camaraderie and kinship developing that emails and social media go up the minute there’s a new location, such as Odyssey Gastropub in the former Tony’s location.