Two-year extension granted to finish boarding house project at office building in EagleVail
Second extension needed for legal approvals
The Eagle County Board of Commissioners Wednesday granted a second two-year extension to the owners of the Warner Professional Building in EagleVail in the long-running attempt to convert the office space to a boarding house.
The commissioners granted the extension to the project, first approved in 2019, accepting the argument that delays were “beyond the applicant’s control,” according to a staff presentation.
Location: EagleVail, on the corner of U.S. Highway 6 and Eagle Road.
Owners: Michael and Matthew Barry
What’s approved: Conversion of an office building into a boarding house.
Unit mix: Five double-occupancy rooms, 30 single-occupancy rooms and a manager’s unit.
Building co-owner Michael Barry said that his family has faced “a few hurdles” in converting the building to residential use. Among those hurdles is the need for the county to receive an approval letter from the EagleVail Property Owners Association.
“We’re hoping we can come to an agreement on that,” Barry said.
Attorney Robert Sperberg, representing Barry, said the issue is currently being litigated, and hopes to have it resolved in the next three or four months.
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In a subsequent phone interview, Sperberg said the issues are “primarily legal,” adding that he doesn’t think there’s “any animosity between us and the (property owners association).”
During the hearing, county planner Janet Aluise told the commissioners there’s a “reasonable likelihood” the project will proceed in the next two years.
Barry told the commissioners that once the legal issues are resolved and a building permit is granted, he expects construction to take between four and six months.
The commissioners in 2019 approved a plan to replace the offices in the building with 30 single-occupancy rooms and five double-occupancy rooms. Each room would have a microwave, a sink, a refrigerator and a closet. The building would have a manager’s unit. The bedrooms would have shared bathrooms, with one bathroom for about every 2.5 bedrooms. The building would have a large community room and shared kitchen facilities. No short-term rentals would be allowed.
The staff report states that the bedrooms would be master-leased to local employers.
In a phone interview following the hearing, Barry noted there’s been “tremendous demand” for the rentals, which can’t be satisfied until the project is complete.
During the hearing, EagleVail resident Karl Kreuger expressed several criticisms of the project. Krueger and fellow resident Darlene Daugherty challenged the 2019 approval in District Court in Eagle. That challenge was rejected, and the Colorado Court of Appeals later upheld that decision.
Commissioner Matt Scherr noted that the original approval was granted, and the decision had already been litigated, the proposal still complies with the county’s land use regulations.
The commissioners voted 3-0 to grant the extension.