Vail Daily letter: Why even more development plans?
It was refreshing to read Peter Runyon’s piece in the June 13 paper. Finally someone sees the big picture.
Unless you are a developer or tied to the development somehow, I cannot see how anyone could be in support of Wolcott (or the Eagle River Station development, for that matter).
Anybody who got their recent property assessment should be sickened by the town of Eagle and the county for approving any new developments.
It doesn’t take an economist to understand simple supply and demand. If there were demand, the prices would have increased.
Every single person I have spoken to has lost even more value of their current homes since the last assessment.
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What do you think is going to happen when 1,000 homes pop up in Haymeadow, 600 in Wolcott, and another 550 in Eagle River Station?
There is no demand for homes in Eagle and Gypsum anymore, hence the drastically reduced prices.
Most owners in these towns realize that they would have a hard time even selling their home in this market, let alone cover the debt.
That being said, why do the developers of Wolcott believe there is going to be a demand for homes that are squeezed between I-70, Highway 6, and the intersection of 131? How many people dream of having three highways right in their backyard?
There is a reason that in most urban areas, the homes closest to the highways are generally run-down apartments and other low-cost residences.
The questions that need answers are quite simple: Where is the demand? Where are these people planning on working (certainly not in the low-paying retail that is slated to appear), and where are you going to get the water to feed these new homes?
Another question that begs to be answered is what retailers are planning on expanding to Eagle County in this economy?
Eagle River Station cannot even produce an answer other than “we have some exciting vendors showing interest.”
Shouldn’t some vendors have been already signed to a contract before the town of Eagle approved that monster development?
The developers of Eagle River Station promised they would lure shoppers from upvalley.
What happens when those same mystery shoppers stop at Wolcott’s sizeable planned retail development instead?
Of course, that is the great enigma. Where is the demand for more retail space in the valley? Chambers Avenue is already flooded with vacancies, and the Airport Gateway Center is on life support.
I guess when you set the bar low enough, there is less room for disappointment.
Currently 33 percent of Detroit’s commercial space sits empty.
Maybe if we are lucky we will only be at 32 percent.
I’m not sure why people moved here if they wanted an urban setting.
I know those of us who live here for the right reasons can do without the pending urban decay.
Karl Lundgren
Eagle
