Winter Park Town Council supports passenger rail station, hears updates on housing projects
For Sky-Hi News
The Winter Park Town Council’s March 18 meeting brought updates on several housing developments and approval of a few contracts and town events.
Agenda items included filings from the Lakota Pointe and Rendezvous housing developments, a passenger rail station in Winter Park, installation of chargers for the town’s new electric buses, approval of a grant for relocating the Fraser River Trail and several other items.
Council heard proposals from two ongoing housing projects seeking to move forward with construction.
The first, the Lakota Pointe development, is a residential project featuring more than 100 luxury homes in Winter Park. Lakota Pointe obtained council’s approval to begin construction on a 30.5-acre plat northwest of Cub Creek, a subdivision of the larger project space that was approved initially by council in October 2023. This is the next round of construction for Lakota Pointe, as two plots have already sold and three more are available for purchase. This round features construction plans for an additional 37 “luxury attached and single-family homes” with over 100 units still awaiting approval in subsequent filings.
The Rendezvous development, just east of South Spruce Tree Way off Ski Idlewild Road, also presented its second filing to council at the meeting. Rendezvous is looking to begin construction on a 13.35-acre plat, containing 70 single-family homes as well as designate several other plats for future multifamily development. Council expressed support for the proposal but decided to table the resolution until its April 1 meeting to allow time for public notice of the project.
Council also supported efforts by the Mountain Passenger Rail project to have a stop in Winter Park. The Colorado Department of Transportation identified Winter Park as an important stop on the route to increase connectivity between Colorado’s mountain towns and urban centers. The resolution proposes using the existing rail station at the base of Winter Park Resort, currently used to service the Winter Park Express, to serve as the town’s station on the proposed network.
- Council approved the installation of two electric vehicle chargers in preparation for two new electric buses joining the town’s fleet in the coming months.
- Winter Park Resort obtained a special-event permit for its annual Spring Bash & Splash, a monthlong series that includes free concerts, costume contests and beer tastings each Saturday in April.
- A special-event permit was approved for Grand Kid’s Learning Center’s Eggstravaganza on April 19.
- Council also gave the go-ahead for the town to pursue federal funding to supplement the Fraser River Trail project, which is seeking to relocate the Fraser River Trail, currently adjacent to U.S. Highway 40, closer to the Fraser River itself.
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