Eagle council approves 66-unit residential development along river
Courtesy image
A pristine location along the Eagle River in Eagle could soon become a mix of 66 townhome, duplex and single-family residences after the development received a key approval from the Eagle Town Council on March 24.
The project, known as Red Mountain Ranch, will be built on a 17.5-acre parcel at 17500 U.S. Highway 6, east-northeast of the intersection of Highway 6 and Nogal Road, just north of the river.
The project proposal was brought to the town by Griffin Development, LLC., and designed by Denver architecture firm Tres Birds.
Interim Community Development Director Kyle Brotherton said the proposal was consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan, known as Elevate Eagle, as well as the town’s Eagle River Corridor Plan.
“It proposes to create a mix of housing types, it proposes to respect the riparian areas and proposes to maintain and create numerous recreational activities,” Brotherton said.
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Rodrigo Cortina with Griffin Development said every home in the project will be either a three- or four-bedroom unit. He said it’s still too early to say what the units might cost.
“Will this turn into a project where some people use it as a second home? Maybe,” he said. “I grew up in this valley and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard from a lot of people what they’d like to live in, and this project is a reflection of what I’ve heard and what I think would be a successful project. It’s the first of six parcels on the river that are part of this PUD — I’m involved with all of them — and so the idea is proof of concept here.”
Mike Moore with Tres Birds said his firm enjoyed working on the project because the land owners wanted to create a unique project.
“They asked us to find the sweet spot of the lot; they didn’t say max it,” Moore said.
The site plan will extend the riparian corridor 25 feet beyond the 50-foot requirement, Moore said, and there won’t be any fences or yards. The project will be based around open space and trails, Moore said, and will be 100% electric, with the building roofs oriented in a way that could take advantage of solar in the future.
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“This could be a completely net-zero development, at some point, if people choose to use their roofs,” Moore said.
Eagle Council Member Gina McCrackin said the project is aligned with Eagle’s community values when it comes to its use of open space, native vegetation and native landscaping.
“Development does come with disturbance, and of course more people there will create disturbance, but the more we integrate into those natural environments and utilize responsible plantings, and all of those things, the better off we are,” she said.
Construction timelines were not immediately announced, and the project must still complete additional permitting and final plat approvals before breaking ground.
