Condo project proposed for former Old Town Fort Collins church building changes course
Plans for a half-acre parcel in the heart of downtown Fort Collins have changed from 40 condominiums to 15 townhomes due, in part, to a decades-old Colorado construction defects law that affects condo development.
The property at 220 E. Oak St., the former home of Community of Christ Church, is in the very preliminary stages of the development review process. That means the project may change or not go forward at all.
This is the second iteration of plans for the site. Previous designs included 40 units in a four-story building with a courtyard, retail and underground parking. The property is owned by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to Larimer County property records.
Laurie Davis, an architect with Davis Davis Architects, and a project developer, said plans changed primarily because of state condominium construction defects laws that allow a small percent of condo owners to sue a developer over construction defects.
"Our insurance carrier was nervous about us doing for-sale condominiums," she said. They readjusted to consider condos for rent "but Fort Collins doesn't demand the rents required to make it pencil out."
That sent Davis Davis back to the drafting table to redesign the project. The end result: 15 townhomes that will resemble the L'Avenir project across the street from 220 E. Oak, which Davis Davis designed and in which they work and live.
Units will range from 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet, be completely electric and energy efficient, Davis said. "We are following a lot of the city's strategic plan," she said. They're making an effort to encourage people to walk and bike and targeting the "15-minute city," in which residents can reach almost everything they need for daily living with 15 minutes of home.
The proposal will require approval from the city's planning and zoning commission. While townhomes and condominiums may look the same, a townhome sits on its own lot but shares a wall with another townhome. A condominium owner only owns the interior of their individual unit.
The site, just east of College Avenue and south of Mountain Avenue, spans two different zones — the Neighborhood Conservation Buffer and Downtown Zone Districts — and would have required approval of an additional permitted use from the City Council as well as development approval from the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission.
The boundary adjustment negates the need for City Council approval of the additional permitted use.
City planner Arlo Schumann said a provision in city code allows the planning director to adjust the boundary if a property spans two zones. "That is the direction staff is going to make," Schumann said. Now, the property will all fall under the Neighborhood Conservation Buffer zone.
The project received unanimous approval from the city's Historic Preservation Commission, Davis said.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Old town Fort Collins housing: Condo project developers change plans
