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The Gypsum Town ߣÏÈÉú got its first look Tuesday at the proposed Tower Center development, and council members had some serious questions about the plan.

The plan has been pared down significantly from one first proposed in the early part of this century, when it was annexed into town as a possible site for big-box retail. But the market for that sort of development has essentially evaporated over the years.

The site now has new owners, and part of the property was sold off for the Stratton Flats residential neighborhood. The now 63-acre property, under new ownership, is being proposed for a mix of housing and commercial development.

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The project was approved in March by the Gypsum Planning and Zoning Commission and is now roughly halfway through the town’s approval process.

Some serious questions

Tuesday’s hearing brought some serious questions from council members, many of which came from Tom Edwards.

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While Edwards said he’s “encouraged” by the plan, Edwards noted that the plan in its current form has no provisions for property ownership of any of the residential or commercial units.

Anthony Lamonia, a member of the ownership team, said if interest rates increase, it may be difficult to sell units. If that’s the case, units will be rented and professionally managed.

ߣÏÈÉú member Chris Huffman agreed that he’d like to see some opportunities for home purchases, particularly with the single-family units.

Edwards added that he’d like to see assurances that commercial space would be built as residential space was brought into the town.

Lamonia said Edwards’ mention of a written commitment to build commercial space could be a “deal-breaker” for the project, noting the difficulty of financing and building space before tenants for that space are lined up.

“What we don’t want to do is have something that’s empty,” Lamonia said.

The key to bringing commercial tenants to the development will be an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to locate a new post office at Tower Center.

The idea is that a new post office would drive traffic to other commercial businesses in the area. Lamonia said the Postal Service, which already has approved a new post office for Gypsum, is currently reviewing a site plan for a new facility in town. What’s currently proposed is a facility of about 8,500 square feet with 71 parking spaces on roughly two acres. That would nearly quadruple the square footage of the post office’s current space.

“That could be a real catalyst for the rest of the commercial,” Lamonia said.

A ‘market sensitive’ approach

During the discussion, Town Manager Jeremy Rietmann, who has a background in economic development, told council members that this proposal takes a more “market sensitive approach” than previous efforts.

“I just want to see that there’s some commercial,” Edwards said. “I’m not asking you to build 100,000 square feet and see what comes.”

ߣÏÈÉú member Scott Green said having the site “shovel ready” for both residential and commercial development is important. But, he added, “It’s important to have some of it for sale.”

But, Green added, he wants the developers to “tell us what’s going to work … we want to have you guys hit the ground.”

Ultimately, council members decided to table a pair of resolutions until Dec. 10, one approving a combined sketch and preliminary plan, and one approving an annexation and development agreement. The council did pass on first reading a planned unit development guide.

More council discussions with the development team are on tap next month.