The city of Durango is soliciting ideas for a residential or a commercial development on a prime piece of city-owned real estate at the corner of College Drive and Camino del Rio.
The property is being leased to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for guest parking, but that contract sunsets in February.
The 1.5-acre property at 211 W. College Drive has been considered for a number of projects over the years, including a conference center, a parking garage, a new downtown fire station and more, said Tom Sluis, spokesman with the city of Durango.
The city published a request for proposals on Sept. 28 and gave developers until Nov. 1 to submit their ideas. Jarrod Biggs, assistant finance director, said the field is wide-open as far as the types of projects the city would consider.
“We’re just interested in a number of different ways of just putting our city property to work,” he said. “And that could be through affordable housing, that could be through any other method. Really, this is kind of a solicitation to say what big ideas does anybody want to bring to the table for some sort of public-private partnership to make that parcel work better for the city?”
Biggs said the city isn’t leaning one way or the other when it comes to commercial or residential developments. The city’s request for letters of interest and qualifications recommends that residential development proposals be in line with the city’s goal of creating more affordable housing by targeting area median income levels, which are about $75,556 in annual income for an individual adult, according to La Plata County’s three-year workforce housing investment strategy.
Since La Plata County announced its plan in June to close the homeless camp at Purple Cliffs on La Posta Road (County Road 213), Durango City Council has expressed interest in finding a suitable location for a permanent managed camp for Durango’s unhoused population.
Biggs said the idea of a managed camp at the parking lot has “probably” been considered since the city started evaluating the property in 2017. But when the city put together its request for proposals, the lot wasn’t “at the top of mind” as a spot for a camp.
“We were just kind of putting it out there to say, ‘What ideas do people have?’ And if that was an idea that came up, I think we would entertain it alongside any others,” he said.
A key component to any sort of development, however, is that the D&SNG has first right of refusal on the property, meaning if the city moves to sell it, the railroad can step in and buy it at the proposed price, said Al Harper, owner of the railroad.
“I’m a little surprised the city didn’t include that when they asked developers to make proposals,” he said.
The city bought the lot from the railroad two decades ago for $2.5 million. At the time, the idea was the railroad could buy it back, Harper said, but D&SNG has never been able to do so, so it started leasing the property instead.
The La Plata County Assessor’s Office values the lot at $4,175,400, said Dianna Cole, with the assessor’s office.
Harper said he wants to work with the city, not against it, but the railroad would likely step in to buy the property if a developer tried to snatch it up. Even if the railroad doesn’t exercise its first right of refusal, developers would likely need to work with D&SNG on any significant project.
“If indeed they decide to get a developer that wants to develop that site they’re going to have to talk to us because I don’t think they can develop to much of a degree without figuring out the parking,” Harper said. “It’s a dilemma.”
The railroad uses 300 to 400 parking spaces annually. If the parking lot at 211 West College Drive is turned into something else, train customers must find parking elsewhere in downtown, he said.
The city has considered building a downtown parking garage for years. But a garage large enough to accommodate D&SNG customers, plus additional spaces for downtown, would cost around $12 million.
“We don’t have the money to independently develop that large of a garage,” Harper said.
There’s also the question of easements between city property and the McDonald’s on College Drive that semis use to transport train engines and equipment in and out of the rail yard, Harper said.
“I stress to you though, the railroad wants to work with everybody,” he said. “We want to figure it out. We don’t want to stand in the way of anyone. ... We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do to protect the parking issue. It’s going to be a challenge and we’re ready, willing and able to work it out.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
