After 10 years, only a small portion of the businesses and thousands of homes slated for
In 2004, city leaders approved the subdivision to absorb inevitable growth, and it is fulfilling that vision, although, much of it remains to be built.
Nearly half of the 100-unit apartment complex was leased in three weeks, said Tim Zink, real estate portfolio manager for the Growth Fund Real Estate Group.
None of the future tenants have seen the units and they won’t be available until August, when the building is complete, he said.
The influx of residents is attractive to businesses and may help drive a transition along Mercado Street away from administrative offices and toward retail shops, Zink said.
“I think we’ve really hit a tipping point,” he said.
There’s been an uptick in the interest in the commercial district, and he expects the buildings to be full shortly.
In August, another 2,000 square feet of retail space in the apartment complex campus will open, and he has been showing it.
The Growth Fund Real Estate Group, a Southern Ute Indian Tribe company, is also preparing lots visible from U.S. Highway 160 for 256,000 square feet of big-box retail stores. More retail space is planned north of Wilson Gulch Road, but it is under other ownership.
Despite consumers nationally spending more time shopping online, Zink believes the community will recruit businesses because La Plata County’s population is above 50,000 and it is a highly visible area.
A $9.2 million extension of Wilson Gulch Road is being built to help attract large retailers and connect the so-called Bridge to Nowhere to the end of Wilson Gulch near Mercy Regional Medical Center.
But it has faced delays and unexpected costs. The city, La Plata County and the Colorado Department of Transportation shared the first $8.2 million of the project. But the city had to set aside $960,000 this year for sidewalks and landscaping.
Last year, federal reporting requirements and utility line relocation delayed the construction, and it was too late in the season to complete sidewalks and landscaping.
Then a city contractor inflated the estimate for the concrete work by 10 percent, said City Manager Ron LeBlanc.
“We decided that was too much money and we went back out to bid,” he said.
A new contractor has not been selected, but the city expects the road to be finished by September, LeBlanc said.
The city is investing in this infrastructure to attract new retailers because many people drive to Farmington to shop.
“If we could help recapture those sales and keep the tax dollars local, it benefits everybody,” he said.
Years before the Growth Fund broke ground in the subdivision, the staff made a pitch to Mercy Regional Medical Center. The hospital was on the Durango Public Library site and it needed a larger campus, said Pat Vaughn, president and CEO of the Growth Fund’s Real Estate Group.
The Growth Fund donated 35 acres to the hospital and brought in utilities, he said.
“It was a rare thing for a master-plan community to have an employer,” he said.
Durango City Council annexed the area in 2004, and two years later, the hospital opened.
Former Mayor Doug Lyon was a member of the planning commission at the time and recommended the approval of the project because it was a dense community that could support public transportation and it made the new hospital possible.
“Sometimes I go out and look at it, just to see how it is developing … just to see if it developing according to the vision, and it is,” he said.
It has helped the city respond to demand for more housing. If the city had slammed the door on the project, it could have driven up housing prices, he said.
Former Durango City Councilor Joe Colgan thought the design would bring together a mix of people from the highest income levels to the lowest.
“We’ve become so divided on so many issues … It just seems like we ought to be better neighbors and recognize we’re all in this together,” he said.
There are 82 affordable or attainable homes so far in Three Springs, and it is unknown how many there will be when the development is finished, said Kurt Prinslow, planning manager for the Growth Fund Real Estate Group.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
Three Springs makeup
Village One
About 700 people live in Three Springs
Two school are planned for the northeast corner.
82 affordable and attainable homes have been built
Seven builders are working in this neighborhood.
Crews are preparing for 15 townhomes and 13 houses south of the 100-unit apartment complex.
1,200 people work in Three Springs
21 businesses operate in Village One
No commercial vacancies are available
Village Two
The Growth Fund hopes builders will break ground on this phase in spring 2018.
More detailed plans for this area will be presented to Durango City Council later this year.
Three Springs Crossing
Thus far, no big box retailers have committed to the site.
The Growth Fund graded the lots to make them more appealing to developers.
Wilson Gulch Road could be finished by September. It has faced several delays.
Open Space
132.9 acres of open space and parks exist.
239 acres of open space and parks will be available.
More than 12 pocket parks are planned.
One 75-acre community park, with softball and soccer fields, tennis courts and playground areas.
A trail connection to Animas River Trail is planned. A mile of this is under construction and expected to be finished in 2017.
Another section of this trail is in the design phase.
