The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
By Jessie Earley, Building Department
On Tuesday evening, January 30, 2024, the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) held their annual Year End Review to consider the projects completed in 2023. Members of the BOZAR and Town staff reviewed a presentation of projects in the following categories: New Residential, Accessory Buildings, Accessory Dwellings, Residential Remodels, Commercial Remodels and New Commercial. The Board considers the effective application of the design guidelines, the massing, site design, overall architecture and exterior materials in their consideration of all of the projects. The Board selected the most outstanding projects for 2023, honoring one project with the prestigious Project of the Year Award. One other project was awarded an honorable mention.
The Project of the Year for new residential buildings in 2023 was awarded to the Valley Housing Fund (VHF) and its executive director Lauren Koelliker for siting the three new mobile homes and accessory buildings located at 112-116 Butte Avenue for use as affordable housing. The award was given to Cal Fenerty for drafting the site plan. VHF’s Koelliker worked an immense amount of time on this project gathering information and supplying all required information. Jeff Dixon, owner of Craft Mountain Homes, helped with the general contracting for the project. The Board appreciated the new buildings and how they address the street. One of the previous mobile homes was accessed off the alley, which was a challenge in the winter because the alley is not plowed. The designs of the three buildings were varied well between the three properties. This added bedrooms to each of the units. The Board also appreciated that most of the trees on the site were saved through the work done. This project is lovingly referred to as the Redden Housing Project as an honor to the previous owner of the property, Paul “Pauly” Redden.
The 2023 Project of the Year Honorable Mention for a new accessory building was awarded to Owen Whiterock LLC and David Owen for the building at 319 ½ Whiterock Avenue. The award was given to Todd Wasinger for drafting plans in a successful way in the design of this simple accessory building, Erik Nauman, Housewright, and all the subcontractors for the work done and for commitment to the project. The Board appreciated the design of this accessory building. They also appreciated that the owner chose to paint the building rather than stain, which pays homage to older buildings within Crested Butte. The solid-to-void ratio and the limited number of windows proposed was another positive aspect.
Each year this is a community effort and the BOZAR and Building Department Staff wish to thank the property owners together with the Building and Design Community for another successful year of construction in Crested Butte. The architectural uniqueness of Town owes a great deal to your hard work. Special thanks to the architects, designers and contractors for their hard work in 2023.
