The Three Springs subdivision in southeast Durango is ripe for development of hundreds of new affordable and market rate homes. But before developers can begin building, the city must expand existing infrastructure to make future projects feasible.
An estimated 270 affordable or attainable housing units could be built on 10-15 acres of property in Three Springs if Wilson Gulch Drive and additional water and sewer infrastructure is expanded north from a neighborhood called Village 1, said Scott Shine, community development director.
The expansion would also allow for an estimated 1,300 market rate units – mainly townhomes and single-family homes – to be built in Village 2, a site that’s currently undeveloped, he said.
He said the city is considering a rough game plan with several elements that would need to be addressed:
- Northern expansion of Wilson Gulch Drive and water and sewer utilities from Village 1 neighborhood to the undeveloped Village 2 site.
- A partnership with a developer to carry out the infrastructure project.
- Establishment of a land trust or trusts to ensure future affordable housing units remain affordable “in perpetuity.”
Village 2 is about ready for development, with the exception of critical road, water and sewer utility extensions, he said. If Wilson Gulch Drive is redesigned and extended, the property between Village 1 and 2 would be a strong site for new affordable or attainable housing, and the opportunity for market rate housing would open up in Village 2.
Shine told Durango City Council at a Feb. 7 meeting that the city is contemplating a partnership with GRVP LLC, the developer of Three Springs, to extend Wilson Gulch Drive and utilities to Village 2. But a land donation from GRVP to the city or a housing nonprofit would be necessary to ensure that affordable housing units built would remain affordable.
When GRVP’s plans for Three Springs were initially approved nearly two decades ago, the developer committed to dedicate 40 acres of land to Durango School District 9-R for the potential construction of a future school or schools, he said. The developer also committed to giving 75 acres up for a community park. Now, the city is revisiting those commitments and is engaged with Durango School District 9-R to determine if other land parcels could be given to the city or a housing nonprofit instead to ensure long-term affordable housing.
Although the ideas discussed with City Council are not set in stone, the city applied for a $1.5 million Colorado Department of Local Affairs grant that, if awarded, would contribute to the Wilson Gulch Drive expansion and other projects such as the conversion of the Best Western Inn & Suites on U.S. Highway 160 into transitional housing, he said.
The DOLA grant would allow the city to complete engineering plans and potential neighborhood designs, and to get cost estimates for extending infrastructure in Three Springs, he said.
“Once that road is built, once the utilities are extended, it would be a readily developable site that could use that land trust model,” he said.
Tim Zink of GRVP said infrastructure and developments in Three Springs since 2001 have become the “backbone” of developments the city is considering now.
It all started in 2001 when the Southern Ute Indian Tribe acquired a piece of property and later gave it to Mercy Hospital as a land contribution, he said. Three Springs’ future was further realized when the hospital obtained a $36 million line of credit, he said.
“It had been 100 years since we really had the opportunity to build a state-of-the-art hospital locally,” he said. “... It really was the pivotal point to say, ‘OK, it is now time to look at developing this area.’”
Twenty-two years later, several significant infrastructure projects have occurred in Three Springs, he said. Some of those include the intersection at Three Springs Boulevard and Highway 160, a pump station and a 4-million-gallon water tank in northwest Three Springs, water and sewer line extensions, high-pressure gas lines, electrical utilities, and telecommunications.
John Kessel, development planner at Daake Development Advisors, said investments into the Three Springs area probably total half a billion dollars, with some notable projects being Mercy Hospital that accounts for $76 million; and the expansion of Highway 160 totaling about $60 million, in addition to a $100 million extension and realignment of U.S. Highway 550.
He said the main hurdles to new developments in Three Springs are construction costs, which have risen 25% nationally over the last two years, higher costs of living and high interest rates. But, utilizing a land trust and taking advantage of state and federal infrastructure funds could be the city’s key to pushing forward with developments in the Three Springs subdivision.
cburney@durangoherald.com
