Gypsum Town Council grants approvals to proposed Tower Center development

The Gypsum Town Council passed a package of resolutions and ordinances on Tuesday that clears the way for the development of the Tower Center project.

Still subject to a couple of final approvals, the project will bring nearly 500 new housing units, up to 100,000 square feet of retail space and perhaps a new post office for the town to a 64-acre site along U.S. Highway 6 east of the Stratton Flats neighborhood.

During the last hearing with developers on Nov. 12, Town Council members wanted to see that some of the housing units would be offered for sale. They also asked for some assurances that commercial space would be brought into the development as residential space was built.

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The developers, represented by partner Anthony Lamonia and local planner Tom Braun, returned Tuesday with a couple of proposals.

The for-sale proposal

Regarding housing, Braun said the 47 single-family lots — probably the last residential units to be developed — will be offered to buyers for 120 days. Sales will be restricted to Eagle County buyers for 30 days — later amended to 45 days. The proposal also allowed the developer the right to sell homes to employers that sell homes to employees.

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The commercial property was linked to the development of the apartment and townhome units, the first to be built after the infrastructure is put into the property.

Braun noted that building the commercial property is “as important (to the developers) as it is to the council.” That commercial property will be divided into small to medium-sized parcels.

The changes to the plan were welcomed by council members, particularly the ongoing negotiations for a new post office. Lamonia said negotiations for that facility are continuing with the U.S. Postal Service. If those negotiations come to fruition, the new post office will be roughly 8,500 square feet, roughly four times larger than the current facility.

“The most frustrating thing in town has to be the post office,” council member Scott Green said. “If we get the post office, in my opinion, it’s a no-brainer.”

But council member Kathleen Brendza said she’s eager to have the amenities that are planned with the development.

“If we continue to build just bedrooms, we’ll always be just a bedroom community,” Brendza said, asking who on the development team has the responsibility of attracting businesses to the commercial portion of the project.

Commercial incentives

That responsibility falls to Steven Sendor of Fortius Capital. Addressing the council, Sendor noted that his team “gets paid last,” so has an incentive to fill the commercial space.

Council member Tom Edwards, who asked many of the questions about the commercial space at the Nov. 12 meeting, said he hopes the Tower Center project can make Gypsum a “better community.”

Mayor Steve Carver said he and Edwards have had differing opinions over their years on the council, but both have seen developers come and go. The town has been bitten by a couple of proposals, he said, but with this one “I don’t have a reason to believe why this won’t work.”

Sendor noted that his firm was on the seller’s side of the deal in 2019 when the property first went under contract. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated the deal, he noted, but Lamonia and his partners “did what they said,” he added.

Council member Marisa Sato asked Lamonia about using local contractors for construction. Lamonia said his firm intends to use as many local contractors as possible, but may bring in outside firms for the larger parts of the project.

The next step in the process is finalizing some of the designs, and then applying for the final plats for building.