HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 SOUTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SITE PLAN ADVISORY REVIEW - 16 91 - MEDIA - CORRESPONDENCE3
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[ SUNDAY, March 17, 1991
PR-1 holds fate of undeveloped land
By STEVE PORTER
The Coloradoan
A 50-acre parcel of land in south Fort
Collins is being closely watched to see
whether it will keep its rural character
or become another subdivision develop-
ment.
The land, located just east of Front
Range Community College on West Har-
mony Road, is mostly open space where
foxes chase rabbits and hawks soar
overhead.
In the middle of the parcel is a farm
that's been used by Front Range and
Colorado State University as a labora-
tory for agribusiness classes.
But the area is facing change. Feb. 25,
the Poudre R-1 school board voted to
spend about $275,000 to buy the land,
which was previously jointly owned by
PR-1 and school districts in Loveland
and Estes Park.
PR-1 plans to start building an ele-
mentary school this year on eight acres
in the parcel's southeast corner. But the
fate of the rest of the land is up in the
air, and several interested parties are
eyeing its future.
Barbara Patterson, who teaches
classes in agribusiness and outdoor edu-
cation at Front Range, said she hopes
PR-1 will consider keeping the farm and
preserving much of the area's open
space for use by district schools.
Already, she said, PR-1 is benefiting
from the area because students from
local high schools are attending her
classes at Front Range.
Patterson said the availability of the
farm — where a flock of about 200 sheep
is maintained — has helped make her
classes popular.
"The kids love it,'' she said. "The
classes are always booked."
Patterson said she would like to see
the city of Fort Collins purchase the
open space next to the school for a
neighborhood park and preserve it as
•
much as possible in its natural state.
Mike Powers, city parks director, sa
the city is looking at two possible park
sites in the area. One possible site is
adjacent to the school, he said, and the
other is about a half mile south in the
Clarendon Hills subdivision.
Powers said residents of Clarendon
Hills are split on where they would like
to have a park. Those living on the north
side of the subdivision generally favor
the school site, he said, while those liv-
ing on the south side favor a location in
the southwest part of the neighborhood.
See LAND, Page B2
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Continued from Page Bi
Jerry Krygier, who lives in the
southern part of Clarendon Hills,
said he would like to see Front
Range continue to offer pro-
grams at the farm and open
space near the school site.
Krygier, who favors a city
Park in Clarendon Hills, noted
the success of the Front Range
program as a good reason to
keep things as they are.
"What a great investment for
the school, the college and the
city," he said. "Let's keep this
thing going. Here's a program
we could snuff out."
Powers said the city's parks
and recreation board will make a
recommendation to the City
Council later this spring on the
best location for the neighbor-
hood park.
Jim Raughton, Front Range
vice president, acknowledged a
final decision on the fate of the
farm and the open space around
Paid funeral notices
1
6 The reality is we are tenants on that land. We
are subject to the ultimate decision of the school
board and the school district on how that land
will be used. 7
Jim Raughton
Front Range Community College
it rests with PR-1, the property
owner.
"There's a real dramatic need
for this kind of education in Lar-
imer County," he said. "I do not
have a solution in hand. I am
really hoping for the pieces to
come together."
But Raughton said he's also
realistic about PR-1's need to get
back some money on Its invest-
ment, whether that means sell-
ing the land to the city or a pri-
vate developer.
"The reality is we are tenants
on that land," he said. "We are
subject to the ultimate decision
of the school board and the
school district on how that land
will be used."
Armon Johannsen, PR-1
interim superintendent, said he
understands Front Range's con-
cern over the fate of the land but
said nothing has been decided.
"We have not talked about
what we will do with the rest of
the land," he said. "Our whole
emphasis now is to get the school
up and going."
However, simply keeping the
land is not an option, he said.
"We've calculated into the
building project revenue from
the sale of that land," Johannsen
said.
One possible happy solution for
everyone, Johannsen said, is for
a private group to step forward
and buy the land from PR-1 to