Photo: Seated at the table with the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners and County staff are developers Heidi and David Dragoo, with their backs to the audience. David’s father, developer Doug Dragoo, was seated in the audience. That’s Doug’s foot at the bottom of the photo. August 20, 2024.
The plan presented to the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners by David and Heidi Dragoo on August 20 seemed very ambitious, including as it does the build-out of a 99-acre parcel with mixed commercial and residential development.
It seems particularly ambitious, to me personally, because I regularly drive through the Aspen Village subdivision — an ambitious 86-acre mixed-use development located about 1,200 feet northeast of the parcel discussed on August 20. Aspen Village has been sitting mostly vacant since 2006. But it does have a major anchor tenant: Walmart.
In recent meetings about the proposed Dragoo development, realtor Shelley Low with EXIT Realty has described the proposed siting of a future County administration building there, as the development’s “anchor tenant”.
Perhaps our County commissioners are excited by the idea of being an “anchor tenant”? Like Walmart?
We can mention, perhaps, that the arrival of Walmart in Aspen Village in 2016 has thus far sparked very little new development in the subdivision. Other than, of course, the new bronze sculpture of a lonely sheepherder, near the walking path.
(The County and Town governments each committed, last week, to helping fund a couple of bronze sheep, so the sheepherder will not be so lonely. I’m urging them to include a sheep dog, as well.)
The Dragoos and their company ‘Colorado Outdoors’ are currently involved in a 165-acre mixed-use development in Montrose, Colorado, where the “anchor tenant” is Mayfly Outdoors, a fishing gear manufacturing business of which David Dragoo is president. But that is not all they are involved in. Here’s a quote from a story by Suzie Romig in the Craig, Colorado newspaper Craig Press, July 29, 2024:
Craig Economic Development Manager Shannon Scott is excited that $2.7 million in state funding will assist a 96-unit rental apartment project for attainable workforce housing.
Formerly known as the Woodbury Park Apartments, the overall estimated $25 million project is in the final stages of land procurement for five acres of private, industrially zoned land located south of downtown Craig, Scott said Thursday. In addition to a new location, the project has a new name, the Meadows Apartments.
The overall cost of the housing project is estimated between $25 million and $29 million, said Heidi Dragoo, director of community relations for the Montrose-based, family-owned development company Colorado Outdoors, which is leading the project.
The Craig housing project was originally planned for city-owned land at Woodbury Park, but apparently, neighborhood concerns have encouraged the City and the Dragoos to move the housing project to a new location… in the final stages of land procurement.
Now that the Colorado legislature has created several new programs to help subsidize “workforce housing”, developers like the Dragoos, and communities like Pagosa Springs and Craig, have engaged in serious efforts to get their hands on some of that funding. Something I fully support — if our leaders use it to build “workforce housing”.
The proposal by the Dragoos — to be considered further by the BOCC on September 3 — would have Archuleta County taxpayers pay $2.1 million for five acres of undeveloped land, while the Dragoos pay a total of about $6.9 million for 99-acres of undeveloped land. What’s still unclear is whether the Dragoos would also expect the County to build the new street access and install the new utilities for this five-acre parcel.
Why a tax-funded government would pay $10 per square foot, for property apparently worth less than $2 per square foot, is another point that lacks some clarity.
The sales pitch seems to be, “If the County becomes our anchor tenant, then we promise to build some workforce housing on the parcel next door.” An enticing sales pitch, because we know how badly Archuleta County needs workforce housing.
But the Dragoos do not currently have the funding to build the promised housing project, and may not have it for several years. David Dragoo described the overall development project as a “25- to 30-year project.”
The mixed-use Aspen Village subdivision, 1,200 feet away, is now about 18 years old and shows no sign of being close to full build-out. In fact, development there has been pretty much stagnant for the past 8 years, other than the new Four Corners tire store, and a couple of homes.
At the planned BOCC work session scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday August 27, we will hear about an ongoing “workforce housing” project being coordinated by the non-profit Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation in the Pagosa Trails and Chris Mountain subdivisions.
2. Workforce Housing Phase II Update and Request – Emily Lashbrook
Phase I is currently under construction — ten new homes built on tax-lien parcels donated by the BOCC — and I understand the plan is to build out Phase II in 2025. An additional ten homes, as I understand it?
I have no idea what “Request” will be made of the BOCC tomorrow. But lately, everything seems to cost more than we thought.
The BOCC will also hear about a planned million-dollar “East Gateway River Park Project” being proposed by the Town of Pagosa Springs on the site of Bob’ LP, near the junction of Highways 160 and 84. This project will allow tourists better access to the San Juan River. And also, locals, I suppose.
From the GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) grant application approved by the Town Council last week:
To support the growing needs and desires of the community, the Town of Pagosa Springs is requesting $420,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Community Impact funding. This funding will be used to support the high priority purchase of the 3.63 acres of property adjacent to the San Juan River as well as phase one improvements of the East Gateway River Park Project. This phase of the project involves a phase one environmental assessment, property cleanup, site improvement design plan, boat ramp installation, and parking improvements. This funding will catalyze the community vision to create public river access facilities at the eastern gateway into Pagosa Springs where no formal access currently exists.
Future phases will include constructing amenities identified in the improvement design plan such as restrooms, a handicap-accessible pier, shade structures, paved parking, and a riverwalk trailhead with connection to the existing trails upstream and downstream.
The total cost of the property — not including the cost of future improvements — is listed as $800,000. The total ‘project’ is estimated at $1 million.
Yes, we can task our Town staff to spend their time finding and writing tax-funded grants to build more parks and boat ramps for rubber raft people. Is that what our community needs most?