Montrose, CO — Montrose City Councilors have approved the final plat of the Colorado Outdoors development, opening new investment opportunities for developers and businesses looking to expand in Montrose.
With unanimous council approval, 164 acres of development space located along the Uncompahgre River, that encompass residential lots, open space and parks, and new city streets are now officially cleared for development.
The Montrose Urban Renewal Authority (MURA) was formed in late 2016 by a resolution of the Montrose City Council. The Colorado Outdoors development, located within the MURA boundary is focused on outdoor-related industry and business development anchored around the new 41,000 square foot Mayfly Outdoors manufacturing headquarters currently under construction.
The master plan for Colorado Outdoors includes approximately 670,000 square feet of development with the northern section being comprised of hotel and restaurant sites and, retail opportunities spanning Grand Avenue along the east end. Housing units round out the southern end, with abundant open space and trail access adjoining the properties.
MURA and Colorado Outdoors have been working in tandem on the early phases of the public infrastructure development required to accommodate an assortment of businesses, as well as the Mayfly Outdoors manufacturing facility. An estimated $83 million is proposed for site work, infrastructure improvements, river restoration, and open space enhancements.
The final plat design comes following the recent installation of new city streets and utility infrastructure within the MURA boundary.
That work, completed in October, focused on the completion of street paving, curb, gutter, and sidewalks as well as the installation of dry utilities such as power, communications, and natural gas.
"After several years of work on this project we are very excited for this final step to get the lots created for approximately one-third of the development," Montrose City Engineer Scott Murphy said.
The nearly two-year-long effort to complete planning, design, and infrastructure work on the project is an important part of an ongoing strategy to propel Montrose forward as a significant destination for businesses, luring more jobs and industry to the region.
"The city staff has been amazing with their turnaround and we give them a lot of credit with helping move this forward. This plat would normally be a three to four-year process, and we did it in around 14 months from start to finish," said David Dragoo, president of Mayfly Outdoors.
Last week officials with Mayfly Outdoors and the City of Montrose finalized a land exchange agreement to preserve over 41 acres of open space along the Uncompahgre River.
The donated property covers nearly 1.5 miles of riverfront and encompasses nearly 1.8 million square feet of wildlife and fishing habitat.
"With the donation, Mayfly fulfills one of its goals to preserve and protect vital wetlands, open space, and riverway within (the) city limits. The transfer is believed to be one of the largest single land donations in the history of Montrose specifically for conservation," Mayfly Outdoors said in a recent news release.
"The public land dedication along the river also allows us to proceed to construction with the Connect Initiative recreation trail project starting this winter," Murphy said.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Montrose Connect Initiative Recreation Trail is being planned for January when work on the project is scheduled to begin.
Once completed next year, the trail will add approximately 2.25 miles of hard-surfaced recreation trail, creating a continuous north-south route between the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority; (MURA) and the Montrose Community Recreation Center. The trail was made possible by a $2 million grant from Great Outdoors Colorado.
The trail will be almost entirely separated from vehicular traffic as designs include underpasses at Townsend Avenue and West Main Street.
For more city news visit: CityOfMontrose.org.