John Stroud/Glenwood Springs Publish Impartial
The Roaring Fork College District is taking a cooperative strategy with the city of Carbondale on its newest plan to construct 50 new workers housing items on a chunk of district-owned property close to Roaring Fork Excessive College.
District officers and their planning guide are slated to go earlier than the Carbondale Board of Trustees and the city’s Planning and Zoning Fee subsequent week in search of feedback and recommendations on the plan.
As a result of the undertaking will likely be on college district property and doesn’t contain a subdivision or rezoning, the district shouldn’t be required to acquire formal city approval.
Nevertheless, the district intends to design the housing to adapt with the city’s land use code, undertaking planner Bob Schultz mentioned.
“We’re nonetheless designing the undertaking to the UDC (unified improvement code) and can have a schematic design for the needs of in search of remark,” he mentioned. “We would like this to be one thing the city is pleased with.”
The topic property is a portion of the previous Smith Ranch the place The North Face clothes firm as soon as had designs on relocating its company headquarters within the late Nineteen Nineties.
When that plan fell aside, the land got here into the palms of the Roaring Fork College District, which relocated the highschool to the southern portion of the positioning; the city of Carbondale, which developed North Face Park on the northeast aspect; and the Carbondale Fireplace District, which constructed its headquarters and the brand new hearth coaching facility on the northwest nook.
A strip of vacant land fronting Meadowood Drive to the east of the RFHS pupil parking zone entryway is the place the college district now plans to construct 50 rental homes in three buildings.
The 2 buildings nearest Meadowood Drive are to be two tales tall, and there will likely be a three-story constructing on the again aspect nearest the highschool apply fields.
The plan requires eight studio, 10 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom rental items to be made accessible for qualifying district lecturers and workers at below-market rental charges. The housing combine was based mostly on a survey of district workers, Schultz mentioned.
Any new college district buildings are reviewed, accredited and inspected by the state of Colorado, however native communities might be consulted concerning design and potential impacts, he mentioned.
The city’s trustees will get a have a look at these plans at their common Oct. 25 assembly, and there will likely be a presentation to P&Z on Oct. 27.
Along with Schultz, the district has retained an architect to work on the design and a basic contractor to estimate pricing and supply extra design recommendation.
The housing can be designed, owned and operated by the district for its workers in accordance with present rental housing tips adopted by the District.
In 2015, district voters accredited $15 million in bonds to construct or buy district worker housing. That resulted within the acquisition or building of 66 items unfold between Glenwood Springs, Basalt and Carbondale.
The opposite Carbondale items are additionally on district-owned land subsequent to the District Places of work and Bridges Excessive College.
“The dramatic adjustments within the housing market since 2015 have led the district to establish the necessity for added housing to workers our faculties and departments,” Jeff Gatlin, Chief Working Officer for the college district, mentioned in a information launch.
“The present housing items have been very useful in supporting our workers and ongoing requests for entry to rental items and the success of our present housing stock have led the district to pursue extra housing on district-owned property,” he mentioned, noting that no extra taxes are proposed.
After the city’s feedback have been thought-about, the undertaking design will likely be finalized and submitted to the state for assessment.
Models can be rented based mostly on the district’s housing tips that had been developed and refined for the prior 66 items. Hire is predicated on earnings.
Development is predicted to start subsequent spring, and the brand new housing may very well be accessible for workers for the 2024-25 college yr, the discharge states.
