Gypsum’s Tower Center development could have a Town Council hearing in late October
Proposal includes residential, retail and, perhaps, a new post office
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It’s taken some time, but the developers of the revamped Tower Center project may be about ready to go to the Gypsum Town Council for a pair of key hearings.
Those hearings, seeking a combined planned united development sketch plan and preliminary plan approval, as well as a metropolitan district service plan, have already been postponed a few times over the past few months. The current request is to postpone those hearings until Oct. 22.
The proposed Tower Center project in Gypsum includes:
- 47 single-family lots
- 80 townhome units
- 324 apartments
- Mixed-use and commercial areas including residential units, 26,000 square feet of commercial space and up to 100,000 square feet of retail and commercial space
The current plan was first proposed in 2021 and marks a significant change for the 74-acre property. When first annexed into town in 2006, the site was seen as a possible location for some sort of big-box retail center. The retail landscape has changed markedly since then, and the property sat vacant for many years.
Developers’ representative Anthony Lamonia said his firm purchased the property amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and during discussions with town officials, those officials asked for a mix of housing, services and retail.
“We need a lot more rooftops to drive a smaller amount of retail,” Lamonia said.
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In addition to housing — which the plan envisions as a mix between for-sale and rental units — the developers are also currently negotiating with the U.S. Postal Service to locate a new post office on the property.
A post office at the site could “be a big driver” for the commercial and retail property at the site, Lamonia said.
At this point in the process, “We have some technical things we’re working through,” Lamonia said, including details of water and sewer service to the property.
Gypsum Town Manager Jeremy Rietmann said the developers and town officials are looking for a “plan that meets the market.” The developers, to his understanding, “want to make sure the project is viable, and something they want to pursue.”
Rietmann noted that Gypsum has been approved for a new post office, but added that the logistics of that potential move are complicated.
And, Rietmann added, when the Tower Center developers “have all their details, we’ll be willing to give it a look.”
