Construction ready to gear up again at Spring Creek Village in Gypsum
Tenants will be moving into new apartments by fall, say project developers
In a matter of weeks, there will be 132 new apartments available for rent in the Eagle Valley.
Anyone who doubts the veracity of that claim can simply look back to 2020, when Spring Creek Village in Gypsum launched construction. Crews mobilized at the site — located north of U.S. Highway 6 and west of the Eagle County Regional Airport — in February of last year and by August, new tenants were moving into 150 newly completed apartments.
That expedited time frame reflects the modular construction of the Spring Creek Village project. The modular units are built in Boise, Idaho, and then shipped to Gypsum for assembly. Each modular unit weights approximately 43,000 pounds and the units are transported and then stacked adjacent to the site until they are moved and lifted into place. Once that activity starts, the buildings rapidly rise from the ground.
“Our shipping peak last year was 10 trucks delivering and it is a three- to four-day round trip,” said Gerry Flynn, of Polar Star Properties.
Flynn, together with partner Jeff Spanel, comprises the development team for the Spring Creek Village project.
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“Once we start shipping, we will progressively ship all the units in an April to May time frame,” Flynn continued.
Phase two of Spring Creek Village will feature 132 units in five buildings. Four of those buildings will closely resemble the structures on site. One will be a slightly smaller, two story building.
The Idaho factory began construction of the new Spring Creek Village modular units on Feb. 1.
“If everything goes well, we will have units arriving by early April and if everything goes smoothly from there, we will have occupants moving in by late July,” Flynn said.
Less restrictive
The Spring Creek Village features a total of 282 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in 12 large buildings located at the former Stratton Flats property. The first phase of the complex was built in 2020 and featured 150 income-restricted apartments contained in five buildings.
The initial phase is now at full occupancy and was restricted to people who earned 60% or less of the of Eagle County’s average median income. For a one-person household, the maximum annual salary was up to $42,000. For a six-person household, the limit was $69,500. Rents ranged from $1,057 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,448 for a three bedroom unit.
Flynn noted that Spring Creek Village’s initial phase received more than 400 applications for the 150 available units, but many prospective tenants did not qualify under the strict income restrictions. Phase 2 restrictions will not be as strict, but an agreement with the Eagle County Housing Authority includes income limitations for half — 66 total — of the units.
For the restricted units, Polar Star will receive a property tax exemption in exchange for limiting occupancy to people who earn no more than 80% of the average median income. For the remainder of the Phase 2 units, there will be no property tax exemption and residents can earn up to 120% of the average median income.
“This really does open up Spring Creek to lots more people,” Flynn said. “The rental rate is a little bit high, but it is still less than anything else in the valley.”
Phase 2 for Spring Creek Village will feature one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with rents ranging from $1,100 to $1,900.
What’s changed
There are some design changes planned at the new Spring Creek Village units, Flynn said. The new apartments will include more energy efficient doors and windows and feature balconies and outdoor decks.
Three of the new buildings will front the soccer field that has been built at the complex and two will be located across from the KaBoom! playground at Stratton Flats. Financing for the project was provided by FirstBank and the Colorado Housing and Financing Authority.
Builder Rick Patriacca is also working at the site through a partnership with Polar Star to construct 15 single family homes immediately adjacent to the existing Stratton Flats neighborhood. Patriacca also signed on to build 40 townhomes at the site.
“Rick has started construction on the last single family home and he is 60% to 70% done with the townhomes,” Flynn said. “His sales have gone really well. He can’t keep up with the demand.”
Rounding out the development program at Spring Creek Village, Habitat for Humanity will eventually mobilize at the location. Habitat purchased 36 homesites in the area for future program construction.
