Editorial: Development plans look good downtown
We may be getting ahead of ourselves here, but the Downtown Development Authority’s initial steps to turn the former R-5 property and the former White Hall site into mixed-use facilities featuring market-rate housing look promising.
Here’s why. The developer the DDA selected to form a public-private partnership to transform the properties is a part-time resident of Durango – a community we’ve admired for harnessing the potential of its downtown to bolster its tourism and hospitality industry.
In terms of resources, location, and critical mass, Durango has nothing on Grand Junction. Yet, it’s clearly considered a much cooler place to live and vacation. Why? Part of the reason is the energy emanating from its core business district.
The developer, Jeremy Nelson, has long kept an eye on Grand Junction as a diamond in the rough for downtown development. He brings an awareness of the sensibilities that shaped Durango’s economic upswing and he specializes in developing infill and multi-modal projects.
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