City may buy half of Riverwalk

FORT COLLINS – A controversial proposed development at Fort Collins’ southeast gateway will be about half its original size if the city agrees to buy the southern portion for water storage and recreation for $5.8 million.

Riverwalk, as proposed by Stoner Co. owner Jay Stoner, is a 268-acre mixed-use development at the southwest corner of East Harmony Road and Interstate 25. Stoner and Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry on July 30 signed an agreement for the city to purchase 128 acres of the property, which includes an 800-acre-foot water storage reservoir.

The agreement must still be endorsed by the Fort Collins City Council, which is expected to consider the purchase on Aug. 18.

Stoner said he approached the city after deciding the project needed to be downsized.

“We felt as though, given the new economic world we live in today, maybe a smaller, more efficient development at the intersection made more sense,” he said. “So we decided to limit the development by taking half of it off the table.”

“We’re entering the contract for water supply purposes,” Atteberry said. “We’ve been looking for property and this really would be advantageous for the city’s water utility and for Jay Stoner.”

Under the proposed agreement, Stoner would temporarily drain the unnamed reservoir, which would then be dug out and deepened to be able to hold 1,500 to 2,000 acre-feet.

The dirt removed from the reservoir would be hauled to the northern portion of the Riverwalk property where Stoner would use it to re-landscape the area and bring it above the floodplain.

“So it’s a win-win,” Stoner said. “The city gets a reservoir and we get some dirt that makes (the remaining site) totally buildable versus what it is now.”

Deal hinges on storage

According to the proposed purchase contract, Stoner would have until Sept. 10, 2010 to develop the additional water storage or the deal could die.

“If he’s not able to deliver water storage of a certain size, we’re out,” Atteberry said.

Stoner said he has “no doubt” that the additional storage can be created. “It should take four to six months to do the dirt work,” he said. “By the summer of 2010 we should be able to see the fruits of that labor.”

John Stokes, Fort Collins’ natural resources department director, said the arrangement works well because having Stoner move the dirt saves the city money.

“The maximum we’ll have to pay is (the purchase price of) $5.8 million,” he said. “If we had to move that dirt ourselves it would cost about $8 million.”

Stokes said the city owning the property also creates the possibility of linking trails to Fossil Creek and Eagle View Natural Area, among others. “It’ll be a major trail connector for us,” he said.

Dennis Bode, Fort Collins’ water resources manager, said the Stoner property is well situated to fit into the city’s overall water system. “We need to be able to manage the timing of some of our effluent that comes out of the water reclamation facility just upstream from that property,” he said.

Bode said normally the city looks for storage upstream of its facilities, but for managing water put back into the Poudre River, the Stoner reservoir works well.

“It’s kind of on the tail end of things, but having it there helps us manage the effluent and get it back into the river at the right time,” he said.

Bode said the deal calls for the city to spend about $2,750 per acre-foot, a good price for the region. “As you look around at other gravel pits in the area and along the South Platte, certainly we think $2,750 is a competitive market price,” he said.

Atteberry said the funds to purchase the Riverwalk parcel will come from the city’s water utilities fund and its open space natural areas tax.

Once controversial

The proposed Riverwalk project – which is still moving through Fort Collins’ annexation process – created tensions between Fort Collins and Timnath in 2008. After Stoner met resistance from Fort Collins, he shopped the project to nearby Timnath, which expressed willingness to annex the area west of I-25.

After much heated discussion, both cities turned to a state-sponsored mediator and finally reached an accord last January. Under the agreement, I-25 was formally recognized as the boundary for both cities, with any future Riverwalk project to remain in Fort Collins.

For its part, Fort Collins agreed to pay Timnath up to $2 million for a flood-control project to help protect the growing town, which earlier this year opened a new Wal-Mart store at the northeast corner of the Harmony Road/I-25 interchange.

Stoner said he remains committed to developing a Riverwalk parcel at the Harmony/I-25 interchange, albeit a smaller version of the project originally envisioned.

“That’s a reality, and we’re excited about it, actually,” he said. “If there’s one thing that I keep hearing it’s there’s a demand to do a mixed-use, transit-oriented development at that intersection.”

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