Property owners at the northwest corner of East Third Avenue and 32nd Street offered to sell their 0.273-acre parcel to the city of Durango this week for the potential development of an underpass to connect the Animas River Trail in north Durango.
The owners of 275 E. 32nd St. have at least once offered their property for sale to the city, said Kathleen McCormick, a property owner. The homeowners this week extended another invitation to the city to consider purchasing the land to build an underpass to get the Animas River Trail under the road rather than constructing a bridge to go over it, McCormick said.
“The reason we offered it to them in the first place is we heard there was a lot of fighting going on about the overpass,” she said. “They really should have bought this property a long time ago.”
The forthcoming listing of the property comes as the city of Durango hosts public meetings to inform and elicit public feedback about a proposal to build a pedestrian bridge over the Animas River, the railroad tracks and 32nd Street. Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz said Thursday the city is considering all alternatives when it comes to connecting the Animas River Trail with the northern extension of the trail.
Community members have proposed a number of alternatives at the community meetings. The city said it is willing to reconsider ideas that were looked at 10 years ago, including an underpass.
An underpass would run under 32nd Street on the east side of the Animas River.
“Nothing has been dismissed at this point; we are looking at everything because we want to do the best for our community,” she said.
The proposed pedestrian bridge, at an estimated cost of $4.1 million, would connect the Animas River Trail to a new 1-mile extension from Animas City Park to Oxbow Park and Preserve. Durango residents criticized the cost and the design of the bridge after an artist rendering depicting the proposed height of the bridge went public.
The property owners’ most recent proposal, sent Wednesday in an email to interim City Manager Amber Blake, says, “Since there is seemingly a lot of controversy over the proposed bridges, you might want to consider revisiting the idea of purchasing our property. It would probably be a less controversial plan and less expensive.”
The city had plans to build an underpass at 32nd Street early in the design of the Animas River Trail north extension, but the project could not be built without the property at 275 E. 32nd St., Metz said. The city will not condemn property for recreation and negotiations for the property “did take a while,” she said.
“There was discussion, and at the end of the conversation, they decided they didn’t want to sell,” she said.
McCormick said she and Jerrold Fields, her husband, moved to Durango in 2009 with the intention of living in the home at 275 E. 32nd St. The family has owned the land since the 1970s, and McCormick said she and Fields lived in a trailer for almost 1½ years while waiting for the city to purchase the property.
The owners first approached the city in 2010 to sell the property, McCormick said. They agreed to an appraisal, approved the estimated value and understood the city was willing to pay the price for the property.
McCormick said city officials in 2010 and 2011 “kind of strung us along for a couple of years.” They had offered the property for about $400,000, but the arrangement fell apart, McCormick said. “They just weren’t moving forward. They were putting us off with other projects that they said they forgot about,” she said of the city.
Metz said the owners ultimately decided not to sell the property.
McCormick said she and her husband grew frustrated with the process. “When we actually decided not to sell it, the City Council said, ‘How come you didn’t sell it?’ and we said, ‘We tried,’” McCormick said. “It was just too frustrating, so we said, ‘Forget it.’”
The city “always likes to negotiate in good faith and make fair-market offers,” Metz said.
McCormick said the city contacted her this week about her offer to sell, but it has not made an offer to purchase the property. She plans to ask for about $700,000 for the property, she said.
A city process to purchase the property could take months, said Assistant City Manager Kevin Hall. While city employees have in the past taken the lead on real-estate negotiations, community advisory boards and the City Council are the ones to make a decision about purchasing the property.
“We need to get a baseline understanding of if the community wants to purchase the property,” he said. “It will take some time to work through details, but council is interested in looking at alternatives.”
McCormick said she’s not waiting for the city to make an offer. “If they start playing all these games, then I don’t care. We’re going to sign papers next week for a Realtor.”
The city will continue to examine options and alternatives to connect the Animas River Trail across the river to the 1-mile extension to Oxbow Park and Preserve, Metz said. Buying the property at 275 E. 32nd St. may not be the most cost-effective solution, she said; the city still needs to build a bridge across the river and at least 22 feet above the railroad tracks, she said.
Engineers looked at the cost of building a pedestrian walkway next to the existing Emerson-Parks Bridge at 32nd Street and found it would be cheaper to build an entirely new structure, Metz said.
“A bridge would have to move up stream near the 33rd Street river access,” she said. “What you’re trading is the overpass over 32nd Street with an underpass under 32nd Street. We still have to pay for a bridge over the Animas River and the train tracks.”
bhauff@durangoherald.com
