Lofts housing project finally breaks ground at Glenwood Meadows
Post Independent | John Stroud | September 26, 2017
Site and utility work has begun to make way for the first 85 housing units to be built at Glenwood Meadows since the Glenwood Green Apartments were completed four years ago.
Phase I of the larger, 185-unit Lofts at Red Mountain Apartments, as well as 5,300 square feet of street-front retail shop space, is now underway.
The project has been some five years in the planning and Glenwood Springs’ city approval process.
Recently, Chicago-based Stoneleigh Companies, in partnership with Dallas-based Realty Capital Management, formally acquired 3.85 acres on the south side of Wulfsohn Road for the project.
“The beginning of construction marks a significant milestone for all of Glenwood Springs,” Richard Myers, managing director for Realty Capital Management, said in a prepared statement. “We have been working to bring new housing to the Roaring Fork Valley for quite some time and look forward to developing Class A apartments for area residents.”
Last May, Glenwood City Council denied a request by the developers for some $1 million in impact fee waivers for the free-market apartment project.
Council members were concerned rent wouldn’t remain affordable over time without deed restrictions to maintain below-market rates for at least some of the units.
Myers and his development team said the smaller unit sizes planned for the project would keep them affordable, and that deed restrictions would have made it difficult to obtain financing.
“The city did do some reductions for us, but not what we thought was enough,” Myers told the Post Independent Tuesday. “We were also able to reduce some of the costs to make it work.”
Based on the current market, the efficiency studio units will likely start at $1,100 per month, with higher rents for the one- and two-bedroom units. The apartments are to range in size from 555 to 1,266 square feet, according to a news release announcing the groundbreaking.
“We should be ready with the first units by next fall, but hopefully sooner than that,” Myers said. Pre-leasing is expected to begin in the spring of next year, he said.
Gould Construction is currently doing the site grading and underground utility work. The builder will be RVC Construction out of Salt Lake City.
The Lofts apartments are to feature high-end finishes including quartz countertops, luxury vinyl hardwood-style floors, stainless-steel appliances, in-unit washer and dryer, and balconies. A resident “club room” will have a demonstration kitchen, tech lounge, fitness center and yoga studio, outdoor entertainment space with a grilling and dining pavilion and fire pit, bicycle storage, and private garage parking with electric car charging stations.