Ami’s Acres Offers a Site for Glenwood Springs Affordable Housing Development
By Gary Hubbell, ALC
Accredited Land Consultant
Broker/Owner/Auctioneer
United Country Colorado Brokers
November 26, 2024
The Roaring Fork Valley is setting some real estate records for single-family home sales, to the delight of home sellers and the dismay of potential home buyers, including a large segment of workers who are struggling to find affordable housing. As of October 2024, the average home price in Glenwood Springs was $1.1 million, according to realtor.com. Just up the valley, Carbondale made national news in Forbes magazine with the biggest rise in housing prices over the past 20 years of any city in the country, jumping from an average sale price in 2004 of $257,000 to $1,440,000 today. In fact, three of the Top 20 Cities with Home Value Growth are part of the Roaring Fork Valley housing crunch, as Glenwood’s prices jumped 333% in 20 years and Rifle’s values jumped 340%.
Glenwood Springs is in a tough spot, surrounded by steep mountainous terrain with little room to expand. However, Glenwood is also home to a large hospital, a growing community college, major transit centers, the seat of Garfield County government, major car dealers and retailers, and many workers who commute upvalley to Basalt, Aspen, and Snowmass, including professionals such as doctors, lawyers, surveyors, and many contractors and their workers. Glenwood’s resort attributes can’t be ignored either, with such major players as the Hot Springs Pool, Iron Mountain Resort, Fairy Caves, Ski Sunlight, and many hotels and motels, all with their own staffing needs.
The up-valley commute from lower-valley communities such as New Castle, Silt, Rifle, and Parachute can be frustrating, as drivers encounter gridlock by simply trying to exit I-70 and pass through Glenwood Springs on their way to Basalt and Aspen. Particularly concerning is Valley View Hospital’s mandate that essential workers must live within 10 minutes of the hospital. While surgical scrub nurses can make an excellent salary, it’s still not enough to afford a house that costs over $1 million, and that certainly doesn’t include the cafeteria workers and janitorial staff. It’s important for teachers, coaches, cops, firefighters, pastors, and librarians to be a part of the community where they work.
Craig Amichaux has a solution. “Come build it here,” he says. “We have the perfect site for affordable housing.” Craig is one of the heirs to Ami’s Acres, the campground and RV resort built by his father, Paul Amichaux, in the 1970’s. Tucked into the mountainside on the far end of West Glenwood, Ami’s Acres has one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels in Glenwood Springs at 24.88 acres. Currently the property has 50 full hookup RV sites, several tent and “glamping” sites, two homes, a business office, and bathhouse. The property is served by two commercial wells, one producing 40 gallons per minute and the other 21 GPM.
The site is steep and poses some engineering challenges, Craig acknowledges. He envisions two or three terraces stepped into the hillside as a site to locate as many as 150 homes, whether tiny homes, apartments, or small single-family homes. He points to a site bordering his property on the west, where Gould Construction has built a flat terrace that is scheduled for storage units. “There’s actually quite a lot of rock and gravel underneath this site,” he explains. “You could sell off quite a lot of stone and gravel, which is also in short supply here, while terracing the building sites to prep them for homes.”
Another concern is access to highways and transit systems. “We have two access driveways onto US 6 & 24,” he points out, “which is a federal highway. We’re only a mile from Exit 114 on I-70, and less than 10 minutes to the hospital. The new RFTA transit hub will be situated less than a mile away. We have the largest undeveloped parcel in the Glenwood Springs area.” Major employers such as the Roaring Fork Transit Authority, Colorado Mountain College, Valley View Hospital, and Aspen Skiing Company could partner in a multi-family development, Craig theorizes.
While the property has a faithful following as a family-style resort, the Amichaux heirs are ready to see the property serve a new purpose. “We’d love to partner with a developer who can build housing to serve the community,” Craig explains. “I’m a Glenwood Springs guy through and through. I’ve lived here all my life and I’ll die here. We want to help this community grow and continue to be a healthy place to live.”
The Ami’s Acres property is listed with Gary Hubbell, a Roaring Fork Valley native and Accredited Land Consultant with United Country Real Estate, a multi-national company specializing in rural land sales, country homes, ranches, farms, rural income properties, and transitional land. Gary’s company recently sold the Porter Ranch in New Castle, a 3,500-acre legacy ranch. Interested investors and developers may contact Gary Hubbell at 970-872-3322, or through his website, www.aspenranchrealestate.com.
LINK TO LISTING: https://aspenranchrealestate.com/property/glenwood-springs-co-redevelopment-property-rv-park-for-sale-garfield-colorado/64699/