Eagle County School District takes next step in Maloit Park development
Preliminary plat application approved
Ben Roof/Special to the Vail Daily
Maloit Park, a nearly 20-acre property surrounded by 40 acres of open space located south of Minturn and owned by the Eagle County School District, has long been discussed as a future site for an affordable housing development. The process, which began decades ago and was memorialized in the 2011 annexation agreement with the town of Minturn, took another step forward at the Minturn Town Council meeting that took place on Feb. 18.
At the meeting, ongoing conditions of approval that had been requested were discussed at length and public comment was provided. Much of the public comments were from community members who have taken advantage of the district’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley and found a path to home ownership at one of the other developments that the district has collaborated with Habitat on.
Ultimately the Minturn Town Council voted 5-1 to approve the preliminary subdivision application, which allows the district to move forward to the final plat application. As a part of the final plat process, the district will address all of the conditions of approval as stipulated by the Minturn Town Council.
As a part of the approval process to move forward, the district committed to hosting a community open house prior to submitting its final plat application. The purpose of this meeting will be to share updates to the progress and any changes to the overall plan. For example, updating the community on wildlife mitigation and the event and user management plan for Maloit Park and Maloit Park Road.
When construction begins, phase one of the district’s current proposal has the first 33 homes to be built by Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley. Through its agreement with Habitat, 22 of those homes will be sold to exclusively school district employees, while the remaining 11 are open to the entire community that meets Habitat’s requirements.
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The district and Habitat have completed multiple projects in both Eagle and Gypsum, under an agreement that requires Habitat to sell a specific number of units to qualified district employees in exchange for the land.
This collaboration has created 38 affordable homeownership opportunities through its first three partnerships: 12 units at Grace Avenue in Gypsum, all for district staff, another 16 at Adam’s Way in Eagle, of which 12 units were sold to district staff, and 10 units at IK Bar, all of which will be sold to school district employees.
The district and Habitat are currently building additional homes in Gypsum that are earmarked for district staff at the IK Bar location adjacent to the Gypsum Flats Apartments, Gypsum Creek Middle School, Red Hill Elementary School and the new Gypsum Early Learning Center.
