The city of Durango has abandoned its hunt for a developer and a new use for a parking lot being leased by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Jarrod Biggs, assistant finance director for the city, said the city canceled its search for a developer and it is up to City Council to choose whether to put out another request for proposals.
“I'm sure that's going to be one of their (City Council’s) topics to discuss as a group: ‘... Do we want to proceed with something? Do we want to reach back out? How would we want to go through that process?’” he said.
Previously, the city put out a request for proposals to developers on Sept. 28. The window for applications closed Nov. 1 and the city had five proposals to consider, the top two choices being an entertainment complex proposed by Bud Frank, and condominiums and a parking garage proposed by Reynolds Ash & Associates on behalf of D&SNG.
In February, City Council interviewed the developers who proposed the entertainment complex and the condos, but shut the interviews down when it was revealed Reynolds Ash & Associates removed a planned parking garage from its proposal.
John Harper, D&SNG railroad chief operating officer, said Reynolds Ash & Associates’ original proposal included a four-story parking garage, condominiums, commercial space and special event space. The parking garage was removed from Reynolds Ash & Associates’ proposal because a December parking study indicated the city doesn’t need a parking garage.
Bill Tuthill, the city’s former interim attorney, said during the meeting it would be unfair to consider Reynolds Ash & Associates’ altered proposal without giving other developers a chance to modify theirs.
“My biggest concern is that you had (five) proposers and one of them is now in with something that doesn’t look like something you evaluated,” he told City Council.
D&SNG’s lease expired in February, but for now, the railroad will continue to lease the 1½-acre parking lot from the city on a month-by-month basis, Biggs said.
The railroad holds a first right of refusal agreement with the city, meaning if the city were to award a project to a developer, the railroad could step in to purchase the parking lot for the amount offered before it is sold to a third party. As long as the railroad continues to pay rent, the agreement remains in place in perpetuity, he said.
If the city receives a written offer for the property, it must notify the railroad of the offer’s terms within 10 days. The railroad would have 30 days to purchase the property in full or the portion of the property described in the offer, according to its first right of refusal agreement.
cburney@durangoherald.com
