Grubstake renovation gets initial thumbs up from BOZAR

Parking a big issue

The idea of renovating the old Grubstake building in Crested Butte to be a bar, restaurant and music hall appears to have the support of the town citizens and the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR). The project came before BOZAR on Tuesday, March 25 and the board unanimously approved the idea of the developer being allowed to provide payment-in-lieu (PIL) of parking for 55 spaces, and was on board with the general concept, size and architecture of the proposal.

Architect Andrew Hadley presented the project to the BOZAR. “It’s an exciting project for the town of Crested Butte in that we want to bring the Grubstake back to some of the glory days,” he said. “My client bought the property two-and-a-half years ago and it’s intended for a 500-person capacity music venue. It won’t have that many seats,” Hadley explained. “It’s going to be a big dance floor.”
The project at Third and Elk would require the demolition of a part of the historic structure and then a big addition to the rear of the building. It would have three bars, a stage, green rooms for the artists, a mezzanine balcony overlooking the stage area, a front lobby and box office. A basement would be dug beneath the addition. The proposal includes plans to install a heated walkway along the alley between the building and the Dogwood leading toward the post office.
“The building is designed with soundproofing in mind,” said Hadley. “The decibel readings should be under 60 at the property, which is what the town requires.”

Public commented in support…
Several members of the public spoke in favor of the project at the meeting. “This is a unique opportunity for the town and we are excited about it,” said Last Steep co-owner Sean Hartigan. “The rehabilitation of that building and bringing in a strong music venue is exciting. It appears the owner has the time and money to do it correctly. This would be a positive for Crested Butte.”
“It’s not every day we get the opportunity for an historic building to be rehabilitated in a first-class way,” added Kevin Hartigan, also of the Steep. “I think this will increase town revenues and bring positive vibes to Elk Avenue. Performing artists will be psyched to play at the Grubstake. It would be a shame if this didn’t go through.”
“I love the Grubstake building,” said longtime town resident Sue Navy. “I am glad someone is restoring it. It is part of our heritage. I hope you can work out the details like parking. It is a centerpiece building in our town.”
Josh Elmer and Kyleena Falzone also spoke in favor of the project.
Resident Ceil Murray wrote a letter to BOZAR asking that no parking be allowed in the back of the building. “It won’t be used for parking,” Murray wrote. “Collect the parking-in-lieu fees and avoid the hassle.”

Parking costs a big focus
There are 74 spaces required for the site and the building has a credit of 15 parking spaces. Four spaces are drawn in on the plans at the rear of the building.
Hadley said they had monitored the parking area at the Four-way Stop and the town lot at First and Elk. He said that after 9 p.m., which is when most of the music events would take place, those lots are pretty empty.
“We are willing to work with the town on the best ways to get people to and from the venue,” said Hadley. “Maybe the school parking lot could be utilized with a shuttle. Ultimately, my client would hope to purchase some land in town to satisfy the parking requirement.”
“If they purchase land for parking it would come back to the town to be reviewed to determine the suitability,” said Bob Gillie, Crested Butte building and zoning director. “It’s an open-ended discussion right now. The board should determine if it is willing to accept payment-in-lieu with the understanding that it could change down the road if other solutions are brought forth.”
“The fact that there could be 500 people leaving that building all at once at 1 a.m. after a concert is a lot,” noted BOZAR chairman Liz Sawyer.
“You could put some conditions on the parking payment such as requiring shuttles to the different lots,” said Gillie. “The way the town is built out, coming up with 55 spaces in the core of town can’t really happen.”
In response to a question from resident David Gross, Gillie explained that any money collected from payment-in-lieu of parking goes into a “specific fund for acquisition of land for parking. For example, the land at First and Elk and behind the Fire Hall was purchased with that money. It doesn’t just go into the general fund to be used for anything. We may be looking at some intercept parking or even a parking structure in the future. But that costs about $30,000 a space.”
“This project would be so good for the town I’d suggest giving them a bunch of spaces for free,” said Falzone.
The BOZAR members all spoke in favor of being willing to accept a PIL as an option but wanted the town to be able to follow up with the ultimate outcome of parking and how it would be handled.
“How it functions with big events is important to the town, especially with residential neighborhoods being so close,” said BOZAR member Carolina Alling. “As fast as the town is growing in the summer, we may be getting close to needing a parking structure. The upcoming traffic study will be good to have.”
Gillie expressed support for having a heated sidewalk behind the building. “My ultimate goal is to get a sidewalk along that alley to the bridge at Coal Creek,” he said.
BOZAR member Crockett Farnell wanted to make sure the demolition is done surgically. “We don’t want what happened to the courthouse to happen here and lose the whole historic structure,” he said. “It’s important to maintain that front.”

It won’t be cheap…
Given the size and valuation of the proposal, fees will not be insubstantial. If the developers choose to pay for parking, it would amount to $715,000 for the 55 spaces. Under current town regulations, the project would be required to build 1.9 affordable housing units. A payment-in-lieu of that fee would tally about $205,000. That fee is scheduled to go up this summer. Other fees include the building permit fee, tap fees and use taxes.
There was no discussion about when the renovation would begin if town approval were received.