The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Nearly $4 million spent in Crested Butte so far
Local contractors and tradespeople—along with the community that supports them—were able to cash in for almost $8 million during the past ten months of renovation construction being done for the Gunnison RE1J School District.
Work started on the five school buildings and the Tommy V Baseball field in Crested Butte as soon as the snow melted last spring. One of the promises the school board made to the voters who approved a $55 million bond sale that made the renovation possible was that the board would push to keep as much of that money in the area as possible.
Marc Litzen, the project manager for general contractor FCI Constructors, thinks the board got what they were hoping for.
“To date, FCI alone has employed 18 local tradesmen to complete work required by FCI,” he said in an email to school Superintendent Jon Nelson. “Our subcontractors estimate they have employed another 25 local tradesmen through the course of all of our projects for [the school district].”
Between the two areas where construction was centered, subcontractors and service companies around Crested Butte faired particularly well, taking in nearly $4 million. Another $3.8 million was spent in the Gunnison area.
That makes up more than 20 percent of the $36.8 million that has already been spent from the bond proceeds. That money also had to pay for the architecture and planning of the projects, the general contractor—who employs Spring Creek resident Charlie Evernham to oversee the building at CBCS—and all of the other expenses that go into such a project.
In all, about $45 million will be spent on building the projects, which include renovations of Gunnison’s Community School, Lake School, Valley School and High School along with an expansion and renovation of the Crested Butte Community School and relocation of the Tommy V Memorial Ballfield. Marble got a new schoolhouse out of the bond money as well.
The money spent locally for those projects wasn’t confined to only the construction industry. Service industries also got their share, with out-of-town workers dining out and staying in town.
And some of the local contractors who worked on and continue to work on the school have found favor with FCI, one of the Western Slope’s largest general contractors, which might bode well for them in the future.
“I actually think that Crested Butte Electrical is a company that we’re going to use in the future outside of Crested Butte,” Litzen says. “They’re a great firm. Lacy is another one that is looking at jobs for us all over the state when something comes up that suits them. We plan on using those guys outside of the Gunnison/Crested Butte area, whenever the opportunity comes up.”
But the tradesmen aren’t finished here and some of them will have a busy summer ahead. As the construction of the expansion to the Community School winds down—Litzen says they’ll be locked up and waiting for students by the end of June—contractors are gearing up to renovate the school’s administrative offices, re-carpet and repaint the hallways and install a new high-efficiency boiler.
And with softball season approaching, Tommy V is getting prepped for action. FCI will turn the ballfield over to the town in the next few weeks, once the infield has gotten some fine grading and finish seeding in a few places outside the field.
“These have been great projects. I can’t say enough about the school district and we’re working pretty good with town,” Litzen says. “We’ve got a long summer ahead of us, but so far everything is on schedule.”
