Purgatory real estate, which summons images of sprawling cabins and high-end condos for seasonal ski bums, may soon include a luxury RV resort.
On Friday, the San Juan County Board of County Commissioners approved a sketch plan for Hearthside Luxury Motorcoach Resort, a proposed 160-lot RV community on U.S. Highway 550 across from Cascade Village. The plan unanimously cleared the San Juan County Regional Planning Commission in September.
The parcel is just northwest of Boyce Lake.
Brandon Pogue of real estate company Pogue Texas is negotiating a deal to buy 54 acres from Durango Mountain Resort. He declined to disclose the price.
The project, Pogue said, is intended to attract wealthy buyers throughout the region and out-of-state.
“They’d have to go through a vetting process to see if they have an intention to purchase a Class A motor coach,” he said. “It would be, not a restrictive type of community, but one where the buyers would have to gel to make it successful.”
Michigan-based developer Hearthside Grove is a partner in the project and built a similar community in which lots came with pads for luxury motor coaches, as well as accompanying casitas, or small dwelling units, so lot owners can keep their feet on the ground while staying in Durango.
Development of this kind, which is expected to funnel up to $25 million in property taxes to San Juan County, is new frontier for the Purgatory area. About 15 years ago, Durango Mountain resort crafted a master plan to govern land use, but neither that document nor San Juan County code addresses an RV resort.
“We do like the idea and wish we’d thought of it when we were doing our master plan,” said Gary Derck, chief executive officer of Durango Mountain Resort. “We think it will be good for the resort. The prototypes we’ve seen are well-maintained.”
Pogue said he hasn’t settled on a price for the lots, which would be developed in three phases. He said workforce housing would be provided for future employees living onsite.
Setbacks and vegetation would prevent the development from interfering with the mountainous view offered to those who drive and bike U.S. Highway 550, Pogue promised.
Water and sewer infrastructure remain up in the air. The community would connect with either Purgatory Metropolitan District’s utility system or Cascade Village’s. The former would be the more cost-efficient option.
A line from Purgatory to the proposed resort parcel would also open up the acreage between it to future development.
Pogue, who has owned property at Purgatory since 1989, said his company has looked at development options in “one of the most underrated ski areas in the nation” for years. He said the million-dollar home market in the resort area never rebounded after the Great Recession, and indeed, Durango Mountain Realty agents have said in recent months that buyer interest has shifted toward less expensive multifamily units.
“It’s a creative idea that’s not proven for us,” Pogue said. “But there are a ton of mobile units in Silverton, and if you try to get a spot, there’s no availability. It’s a huge gamble, but knowing the people in Durango and San Juan County, we think people will want to have a home there.”
Preliminary plans and a final plat must receive county approval in the coming months. The project will go before the county again likely in December or after the new year. If all goes well, the first 50 to 60 lots will be underway by snowmelt 2017 and completed in spring 2018.
jpace@durangoherald.com
