Botanic gardens, 3 residential projects to face review in Fort Collins

FORT COLLINS – A proposed botanical garden in west Fort Collins and three proposed residential projects including a seven-story condo building will get looks from city staffers on Thursday.

Up for a virtual concept review at 9 a.m. will be “Sagrada Botanical Gardens” on 1.7 acres at 2035 W. Mulberry St., east of South Taft Hill Road. Applicant Heather Goldstein is proposing a demonstration garden including sections with specific plants, designating which are beneficial to various health conditions.

The gardens also would include onsite educational workshops on such topics as water conservation, land readiness, beekeeping and attracting pollinators. Goldstein envisions placing a free seed library along Mulberry Street. The property is zoned for small manufacturing, she said, which could allow the nonprofit to dry and prepare herbs others could use.

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“A fire access road runs through the property,” she said, “so one side could be a gathering place and outdoor kitchen where we could teach about things like canning and making bread, and the other side will be the gardens, with a greenhouse where we can grow seedlings and give them away so people can start planting medicinal plants at home.

“I know that I’m going to go back and forth with the city about weeds,” she said, “but a lot of these are not weeds. They’re medicine.”

She will also propose placing “tiny-ish dwellings” at the back of the property “where experts could come in and teach, or for people who can come in and maintain the property, and live affordably.

The name “Sagrada” is Spanish for “sacred” and is a tribute to one of Goldstein’s business partners who is from Costa Rica.

Three proposed residential projects are on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Thursday agenda. That hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in city council chambers, 300 Laporte Ave. Interested people can attend in person or via Zoom.

The proposal with the largest visual impact will be a plan by Fort Collins-based Tribe Development and Salt Lake City-based Colmena Group, operating as 209 Cherry St. LLC, for a 112-unit, seven-story condominium building on the southwest corner of Cherry and Mason streets. The developers envision a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with parking both on the surface and underground.

Meanwhile, Capri Colorado Holdings LLC is seeking to build 66 single-family homes on Fort Collins’ northwest edge. The 19-acre site along West Willox Lane west of North College Avenue has gone through several reviews. Andrew Hartsel, operations manager at Fort Collins- based Mosaic Land Development Services, is Capri’s registered agent.

Finally, the nonprofit Polestar Village, which moved to Fort Collins from Hawaii last year, is proposing 144 units – townhomes, condominiums and apartments – that would either be for sale or rent – on a site east of South Overland Trail near West Elizabeth Street, including part of the former Happy Heart Farm. Polestar wants the complex to include a garden and small farm where residents can grow and harvest produce.