|
Aspen Snowmass OnLine Home Page Editorial It is difficult to be certain exactly how one might best regard the advent of big-time, big-money developers in the downvalley development scene. Certainly, there are those who argue convincingly that well-funded megaliths -- such as Hines Interests or Club Corporation of America -- at least offer assurance that projects, once started, will be completed. There is some relief in knowing that the bad example set by Aspen Glen in its early days -- piles of weed-infested dirt, scars on the landscape with little hope of healing -- will not be followed. Similarly, it is difficult to summon up much nostalgia for the "good old boy local developers" who have been supplanted by the deep-pockets newcomers. Forgetting about the possibility of large-scale failures, often enough the small-scale "successes" of some local developers were, in fact, small-scale disasters for the community, for the environment and for those who were unfortunate enough to buy homes in these projects. This is by no means meant to intimate that all past downvalley developments have been disasters, but certainly there have been enough troubled projects to make one uneasy about putting the developers of yore up on nostalgic pedestals. However, if today's new breed of developers promise a higher level of quality, they still pose their own kind of difficulties. Certainly, they can be viewed as men who, having tired of the painful land-use battles in the upper valley, see the chance for easier triumphs downvalley. Vail's David Wilhelm, after being bounced out of Woody Creek, landed in Basalt. GERALD Hines, weary after years in the Pitkin County hot seat, gobbled up Carbondale's Gray Ranch (now renamed River Valley Ranch). These developers are practiced and skillful, smooth in their presentations, polished in their rhetoric. The men from Club Corp. gush over how they are moved by the beauty of the land at Aspen Glen. Hines insists the true attraction of River Valley Ranch is the opportunity to build some affordable housing -- although one of the sticking points of his battle for approval of his Aspen Highlands Base Village project has been his disinclination to build enough employee housing to satisfy local governments. Once again, these are not bad people; they are simply very, very good at what they do. And what they do is gain approval for and then build massive developments. The quality of these developments is not an issue; the need for the developments is. There are those who argue that increasingly demanding development regulations have pushed out the small developers downvalley and brought in the new "big boys." This may be true, but, even if so, the advent of these new powerful developers will, in turn, generate a need for more vigorous, more vigilant oversight on the part of local governments. The battle is far from over.
Gray Ranch: The earth begins to move
Maybe as early as next week, a ceremonial shovel will turn over a small clump of dirt in Carbondale.
After the smiles and back pats that are sure to follow the "ground breaking" at Gray Ranch, Carbondale will face at least a decade of steady construction that will slowly but steadily turn 500 acres of silent ranchland into a neatly manicured, bustling swatch of suburbia nestled around an 18-hole golf course.
With its golf course, roads, trails and 685 homes of varying sizes and styles, Gray Ranch will unalterably change Carbondale and the lives of the 3,500 people who now call the small town home.
When combined with up to 146 new homes approved for the Hendrick Ranch subdivision, which is currently under construction, Carbondale is looking at stretching to make room for more than 800 new homes and families.
What will accompany the pending construction boom and attendant population rise is a matter of speculation, but the numbers point to more of everything, from businesses to school children to traffic.
In short, Carbondale may still call itself a town in 10 years, but it will be more of a city. That was understood when the project was approved, as the town board took pains to ensure that the project would include a host of social amenities and environmental protections.
Despite those stipulations, the project was the subject of intense debate. A citizen-backed ballot initiative forced a vote on the project. Gray Ranch won.
Now, that's history. The future involves actually building the project. "We're here and we're glad to be here," said project manager Michael Hannon.
After Hines Interests Ltd. was brought in by original developer Bob Howard to actually build Gray Ranch, the Hines team has been moving quietly and efficiently.
One of the team's first priorities will kick in, weather permitting, when contracts are finalized next week, allowing a contractor to begin initial earthwork on the massive project.
The town hasn't approved the final plats for the entire Gray Ranch, but it has given conditional approval for preliminary earthwork to start this fall while the review process takes place. There are benefits for both town and developer to allow some work on the project to begin as soon as possible.
First things first
First on the list of projects is grading the parkland in the project, said Hannon. "There's a real need for recreation areas," he noted, "and our 5 acres will certainly help take some of that pressure off."
Carbondale's first batch of deed-restricted, affordable housing will be built on Gray Ranch.
Approximately 70 affordable-housing units have been proposed, and Hannon said the site for that cluster of homes is included in the preliminary plat now under review.
Preliminary earthwork will begin on the land planned for the affordable housing this fall.
If the weather holds and substantial earthwork is completed before the snow flies, by next spring the new parkland will be ready for seeding and the affordable-housing part of the project will be ready for homes.
Also, some "rough cuts" will be made for the golf course and some work on drains will be undertaken this fall.
If everything goes as planned, Hannon said that the early start this fall when coupled with nonstop work through the 1996 building season could mean that by the time the golf course is ready to open in 1997, the parkland and the affordable housing will also be complete.
From then on, steady construction will continue for years.
The town board imposed some limited building caps on the pace at which construction can take place on Gray Ranch. Those caps assure, that at the very least, the project will take eight years to build. However, Howard said it would be almost physically impossible to build that many houses that fast, and said he expects build-out to take 12 to 15 years, at best.
Thus, Carbondale has set the course for Gray Ranch, and now, with construction looming, the town is waiting to see how the development plays out against the backdrop of what Carbondale is now and may become in the future.
Aspen Glen, developed as a resort second-home community near Aspen, Colorado, includes a golf course, spa, two miles of private river frontage and residential lots. Gerald Hines Interests retained ERA to assess the development plan, real estate program, golf membership structure and other features of the project. After performing extensive competitive and primary research, ERA made recommendations for changes in both the membership and the real estate program, and conducted a valuation of the Aspen Glen project based on these revisions.
Woody Creek residents have already altered preliminary plans of a proposed golf and residential project and they hold a key to whether the project even gets formally launched.
The Woody Creek Caucus, the political organization of the unincorporated area about five miles west of Aspen, will meet Jan. 25 to discuss a development firm's plans to build two golf course and 20 luxury homes on a 947-acre ranch in their neighborhood.
The golf and residential project has been proposed by Forsythe West Investment, a group of investors headed by Vail/Beaver Creek developer David Wilhelm.
Wilhelm, a general partner in Forsythe West, owns about a 40 percent interest in the massive Cordillera golf course and residential project near Beaver Creek.
Forsythe West is based in St. Louis, where Wilhelm entered the realestate development business, according to his Woody Creek representative, architect Bob Sterling. Wilhelm has also developed residential projects in Beaver Creek, Sterling said.
Wilhelm and Forsythe West Investment are also being represented locally by attorney David Myler. Wilhelm has already meet with members of the Woody Creek Caucus planning committee and has adjusted his proposal based on the initial feedback, according to Sterling.
Sterling was a member of that planning committee. He struck a deal with Wilhelm after those initial meetings to become the liaison between the Caucus and the developer. That deal requires Sterling to step down as a voting member of the Caucus, he said.
However, Sterling said he believes he has already helped play a role in coaxing a better proposal from Wilhelm. The developer's initial plan was for the 20 luxury homes and a private golf course only.
"He came in and just wanted the private thing. We told him to take a hike," Sterling said.
Forsythe West is now prepared to discuss two proposals with the Caucus members. Both options involve the 947-acre ranch owned by Bill Braun. Forsythe West has an option to purchase the ranch, which was reportedly listed for about $20 million.
The ranch, which was owned by the Vagneur family until about seven years ago, is bordered by Woody Creek on the south, Upper River Road on the southwest, Little Woody Creek on the east and Aspen Valley Ranch on the west. It is divided into two parcels by public lands held by the Bureau of Land Management.
Myler said he and his client knew word of the project would start circulating, so the attorney wrote a letter to the Pitkin County Commissioners and county Planning and Zoning Commission members to let them know the golf and residential project was being contemplated. No formal application has been submitted to the county, nor have their been any preliminary talks about the project with government officials, Myler said.
Wilhelm's "Plan A" proposes an 18-hole golf course that would be primarily private with a limited amount of tee times reserved for the public at fees comparable to the Aspen municipal course. Plan A includes 20 single-family homes that would be built on the lowest, least visible location on the ranch, according to the letter.
"This plan is the simplest in terms of developer involvement, would use the smallest amount of land, would be the least intrusive to the Woody Creek way of life and would create the least amount of traffic on the Upper River Road," said the letter.
Plan B adds an 18-hole public golf course to Plan A.
"This choice was included in response to criticism that Plan A was just another exclusive development that contributed nothing to the community," the letter said. "By implementing Plan B, the community not only attains a valuable public asset, but is put in a position of being able to share future revenues from that asset."
Under either plan, the upper 352-acre parcel of the ranch would be retained for private use or possibly sold to some public or nonprofit entity.
Both golf courses would be 18 holes and 140 acres each. Forsythe has retained Nichlaus Designs of North Palm Beach, Fla., a company owned by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, to prepare preliminary planning for the golf courses.
Forsythe West Investment sent a four-page letter to scores of Woody Creatures last week outlining its plans and inviting them to fill out a survey with their questions and concerns prior to the Jan. 25 Caucus meeting.
Sterling stressed that his client realizes it is vital to earn the approval from the Woody Creek Caucus before moving on.
"It's not like this guy's trying to come in and force anything on the community," said Sterling.
The feedback from Woody Creek residents will determine when - and even if - a formal proposal is submitted to Pitkin County. The golf course and residential plan would be required to go through the county government's full land-use-application review process.
"I'm anxious to see how the Caucus reacts," Sterling said.
The Caucus is scheduled to convene on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Aspen Community School.
Developer Gerald Hines' proposed village at Aspen Highlands cleared one big hurdle in the Pitkin County review process this week but a dark cloud of litigation now hangs over the project.
Adjacent landowner Rick Jones and possibly some other neighbors are considering litigation after a round of negotiations with Hines representatives failed to produce alterations in the project that both sides can handle.
Jones and possibly other neighbors could end up filing a lawsuit against Pitkin County or Hines Interests, or both, to try to force their desired changes in the Highlands Village plan.
Jones wouldn't definitively declare this week whether or not litigation is likely, but he said it is definitely an option. He and at least one other neighbor have hired a Denver law firm to negotiate with Hines' attorneys and monitor Pitkin County hearings on the project.
Road leads nowhere
In response to neighbors' concerns, Hines was willing to change the location of one luxury home lot and incorporate more open space around adjacent homes on the Thunderbowl side of the Highlands base, according to Hines' local attorney, Gideon Kaufman.
Hines was also considering altering aspects of employee housing in the area adjacent to Jones' residence.
"We made substantial efforts, we believe," Kaufman said.
But Hines is unwilling to change plans to build a new road to serve the home lots on the Thunderbowl side.
"Therefore, we weren't able to reach resolution," Kaufman said.
Jones thanked "team Hines" for a "good start in dealing with the neighborhood." The road, he agreed, is a major sticking point. He claimed it would substantially affect the character of the quiet neighborhood if access to Hines' new houses was through the existing adjacent subdivision.
"Some people value the skiing on the Thunderbowl. They say we should be skiing it, not driving on it," said Jones.
All-or-nothing negotiations
Jones asked the commissioners to require Hines to incorporate the alterations he promised to the neighbors, and to press the developer to continue working with the neighbors on unresolved issues like the road.
Kaufman said that the compromises offered to the neighbors were off the table unless the entire dispute could be settled. He said it didn't make sense to make those concessions and "then still have them sue."
Commissioner chairman Jim True, an attorney, said he could see Kaufman's point. The entire board concentrated on working out details with Hines' team despite the outstanding issues with the neighbors.
Jones suggested the county commissioners were willing to "sacrifice" the neighbors and their concerns in order to cut a deal with Hines that produces ample price-controlled housing for employees and creates a transfer of development rights program.
Hines' projects includes a provision that requires him to purchase development rights in rural and remote areas of the county -- where the county doesn't want to see development -- and transfer those rights to the base of Highlands. "Let's see if the county wants the TDR program and employee housing bad enough that they're willing to sell their souls," Jones said.
We don't dump
The accusation clearly jolted commissioner Mick Ireland, who has the reputation of being one of the tougher opponents of growth among the county board.
He said the commissioners wouldn't be willing to solve problems such as employee housing by creating other problems or "dumping" on the neighbors.
He said that just because neighbors don't desire increased activity at the ski area doesn't mean the property must be downzoned. He noted that many of the adjacent property owners brought their homes or property in the 1970s when Highlands was substantially busier and racking up more skier visits than recent years.
At one point, Highlands consistently recorded more than 200,000 skier visits per season. Numbers have hovered between 100,000 and 150,000 recently.
The Aspen Skiing Co., which brought Highlands into its fold in a merger with Hines, hopes to reach about 250,000 skier visits.
Ireland defended the commissioners' approach to the Highlands project and noted that months of review have produced what he considers a significantly better project.
Hines' Highlands Village has been in the county review process since June 1993. More than 40 meetings by the planning and zoning commissioners and the county commissioners have been held during that 31-month period.
Yes, but ...
Despite that lengthy review, it seems to be a given that Jones and his neighbors or someone else is upset by the Hines' project. A project that size, even after the reductions, cannot please everyone.
The commissioners have given the first round of conceptual approval to a project that includes:
31 single-family luxury home lots,
32 luxury townhouses,
73 tourist accommodations,
74 employee-housing units with limited prices and 29 employee dorm rooms,
21,600 square feet of retail space,
14,125 square feet of restaurant space,
12,000 square feet of skier services,
4,800 square feet of meeting room space, and
587 parking spaces.
Highlands neighbor Barbara Conviser, who lives across from Maroon Creek Road from the ski area, noted that removing a lot from the Thunderbowl side to the Maroon Creek side to appease Jones would create problems for others.
"There are just too many second-home sites, period," Conviser said. But after 31 months of review, the commissioners were prepared to grant what they technically call first reading of general-submission approval. Second reading is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Developer's firm could emerge as supervisor of residential development
Representatives of Aspen Highlands developer Gerald Hines have convinced the Carbondale board of trustees that if Gray Ranch developer Bob Howard can put a financial deal together, Hines Interests would be an "acceptable" project manager to oversee construction of the residential aspect of the project.
David Parker and Bob Daniel of Hines' team appeared before the town board because of a stipulation in the Gray Ranch approval that gives the board a chance to review any significant changes in the ownership or management team for Gray Ranch.
Parker said the letters of recommendation he brought from mayors of 20 cities across the county were more than enough to impress the trustees. The possibility of Hines Interests becoming involved in the Gray Ranch project is the latest twist in an effort to complete the controversial project.
Howard spent two months scouring the financial world to jump start his project when it appears all he had to do was drive to Gerald Hines' office in Aspen.
Howard said he has put together a group of potential investors who are trying to finalize a financial package by Friday that will provide the funding to complete the Gray Ranch, a 500-acre golf and residential development in Carbondale.
As part of the deal, Hines Interests, owned by Texas developer Gerald Hines, could be involved in some sort of management position concerning the construction of the homes on the project, confirmed both Howard and Parker.
In addition, Howard said the Hines group provided some assistance when it came to the search for potential investors.
Since the deal isn't finalized, neither side could cite the specific role Hines Interests might eventually play in developing Gray Ranch, nor to what extent the firm would be involved financially, if at all.
The news that Gerald Hines might become involved in Gray Ranch was welcomed by Carbondale Mayor Bill Gray, a strong opponent of the project, whose approval was reaffirmed through a townwide vote in November.
Having a very successful businessman, such as Hines, with a proven track record and ample resources involved in Gray Ranch "improves the odds the project will get completed," Gray noted.
"We're not interested in buying the Gray Ranch," said Parker, "and we have no intention of running a golf course." However, Parker said his firm had been approached about playing a role in managing the construction and development of the housing segment of the plan, in which it would be interested.
Parker noted the company is involved in similar project-management deals throughout the world.
Parker stressed, however, that any sort of participation in the Gray Ranch by Hines is contingent on the current investment deal coming to fruition.
Howard claimed he had been "scrambling" for the past two months to line up investors and other financing for the project.
What he found out in those two months was that "the Hines organization understands the housing situation in Carbondale" better than anyone else he talked to, said Howard.
The initial approval and annexation agreements are long and complex, Howard noted, and "we have to live with those conditions. "Gerald Hines and his people are much more attuned to the community, and understand why it's important to retain the conditions in the PUD and annexation agreement," said Howard.
Hines Interests is thoroughly familiar with affordable-housing concerns and other housing issues in the valley, Howard noted, thanks to its 20 month effort to develop a base village at Highlands. Hines bought the Highlands ski area and merged the ski operation with the Aspen Skiing Company, and just last week won a recommendation for approval for the base-village plan from the Pitkin County planning commission.
"I can't imagine a better combination of factors, from a financial and management standpoint" than the current situation with the potential investors and the added plus of having Hines involved in the project, said Howard.
Howard said he would remain actively involved in overseeing the project, regardless of the financial deal or other management contracts.
Parker, who attended Roaring Fork High School in the 1970s, said the chance to develop housing in the $100,000-to-$200,000 range is one of the things that piqued Hines' interest in possibly getting involved in the Gray Ranch project.
Mayor Gray said it was his opinion that regardless of any potential ownership changes or new financial structures, the essential elements of the project which have been approved could not be radically changed.
Gray said having someone like Hines involved in the project reduces the risk that, as in the case of Aspen Glen, "they just nuke the landscape and run out of money.
"Hines is successful and intelligent," said Gray, "and has obviously made good investment decisions to achieve his success."
Friday could be the day when people find out if Gerald Hines decides the Gray Ranch and Carbondale can become another success for him and his company.
Xxxx Xxxxxx wrote:
Judy, thank you for your lovely poem. I was drowning in Hines-hell, (read my following email posts) and your 25 powerful words, simplicity itself, brought a great peace back upon me.
Hines is ... is such a monstrosity that the paper companies look like little paupers scampering around Hines' ankles. It'll take more than mere human effort to stop this ... Thing.
But I know you already know that.
Xxxx
This information reprinted here for educational purposes only.
|