Three acres in Three Springs, originally envisioned as open space swap, could be dedicated for an affordable-housing development instead.
The small lot was set aside as wetlands, but it has dried up as the land was developed around it, said Kurt Prinslow, planning manager with the Growth Fund’s Real Estate Group.
The company is asking the city for the ability to build housing and retail shops at the location.
An affordable-housing project is one of those possibilities, he said.
Another three acres of land elsewhere in Three Springs will have to be dedicated as open space if the parcel is developed, said Kevin Hall, assistant director of Community Development.
The Growth Fund and the city would agree on a replacement 3-acre parcel in the future, as the area is developed, he said.
The change in land use would also have to be approved by the Durango City Council and Durango Planning Commission before it could move forward.
No dates have been set.
The proposal gained some support from the Natural Lands Advisory Board last week.
The members voted 3-1 in favor of the agreement. Board member Ed Zink abstained from the vote; while board member Adam Howell voted against it.
The board in general favored the swap, but board members urged the city to negotiate for a parcel that bordered another piece of open space.
Pat Vaughn, the president and CEO of the Growth Fund’s Real Estate Group, pitched the idea of building affordable housing on the site to the Natural Lands Advisory Board because it is surrounding by retail shops and other development.
“I think we get a higher and better use,” Vaughn said.
The company wouldn’t make any money off of the land if it were to be dedicated to the Regional Housing Alliance for an affordable housing unit , he said.
It is just one of many possibilities for the property, Prinslow said.
“There is no commitment that, that 3 acres is going to go affordable housing,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
