Since its inception in 2019, the Pine River Community Resource Center has been located in the old Bayfield primary school building and has become a place where members of the largely rural community can get help.
Old classrooms now house Pine River Shares, Pediatric Partners of the Southwest, the Bayfield Community Treehouse, the Grief Center of Southwest Colorado, the Bayfield Farmers Market administrative office, and meeting spaces for the local Girl Scout troop and Alcoholics Anonymous. Many of the services provided at the resource center are free or pay-what-you-can.
But on Dec. 27, Pine River Shares posted on its Facebook page informing readers that the Bayfield School District, which owns the building, intends to sell it – casting uncertainty on the future of the resource center and the services it provides.
“We’ve been privileged to be in this building for almost 10 years,” said Pam Willhoite, Pine River Shares’ executive director. “We may have to shut down if we can’t figure it out.”
According to Bayfield School District Superintendent Dylan Connell, the building is valued at about $1.2 million (though that value is from initial assessments, and the district has not listed it). The reason behind the potential sale is because owning the building is expensive, and the funds currently spent on it could be used in other parts of the school district, Connell said.
“The decision ultimately comes down to our responsibility to our students and our taxpayers to be good stewards of our facilities and to make sure that our learning environments are tiptop and the best they can be,” he said.
According to the release, the tenants of the old primary school have known about the district’s intent to list the property since spring 2025.
In July, the tenants entered into a three-year triple-net lease that included a right of first refusal – an agreement that gives the current tenants 72 hours to raise the funds to buy the building if another buyer makes an offer – in an effort to forestall the listing. In effect, Willhoite said, the tenants took over the operating costs of the building, which helped save the school district money and give them more time to plan how to buy it outright.
“Since we signed that lease in July, we’ve put on these new partners,” she said. “We believe we have the support, but we can’t come up with $1.2 million overnight. I think that’s the challenge and the scary thing that we’re facing.”
Still, Willhoite said she and her partners believe they have the community behind them to help raise enough money – evident in an outpouring of support since their constituents were notified. Notably, a $200,000 donation has already been made by a local donor.
Connell said the school district does not want to put the Pine River Community Resource Center out of a place. He said the school board recognizes the services the center provides, and wants them to stay in the space – hence the right of first refusal agreement.
“The fact that they provide health care and food and basic needs and a safe place for families to gather, whether it’s a sunny or snowy day, is an amazing thing for a community our size to have,” he said. “Our best hopes are that they are successful and continue to thrive. Our board recognizes the value they bring to our whole community and our students.”
Willhoite is hopeful they will remain in the space. Because of Bayfield’s small size, the resource center’s tenants do not have the same access to grant funding that similar organizations in larger communities do.
“The community support is what has brought us to this place,” she said. “About two-thirds of Pine River shares funding comes from people that live out here. We can’t compete grant-wise with nonprofits that serve larger areas than we do.”
But, the community is already rallying behind Willhoite and the other tenants, and there is still time to raise the money to buy the property.
“We’re standing on our good work now,” she said.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
