Whetstone housing project taking advantage of spring weather

Staying on schedule for 252-unit project

By Mark Reaman

In a quick update on the ongoing Whetstone community housing project being constructed just south of Crested Butte, contractors are not complaining about the weather. The lean snow year thus far has allowed workers to not only work on framing and construction of the onsite buildings, but also do work on the water and sewer pipeline connection to the project from Crested Butte. That work was supposed to be completed last fall, but subcontractor issues delayed that part of the project.

“Our contractor is taking advantage of the low snow winter to complete some of the additional work that still has to be completed to finish the water and wastewater connections,” explained Gunnison County assistant manager for operations and sustainability John Cattles about the earthwork taking place along the Highway 135 near Brush Creek Road. “They are also repairing and replacing some of the work that was completed last summer. Working in the winter allows us to minimize impacts and will allow us to begin (wetland) reclamation earlier this summer.”

Local contractor Spallone Construction was hired to do the work after the county and general contractor Moss Construction basically fired the original firm, Montrose-based subcontractor, Mountain Concrete Group, hired to make the connection.

Cattles said that normally CDOT would not allow work in the right-of-way over the winter, but they have permitted the Whetstone project to work in a limited area this year due to the low snow.

As for the primary Whetstone campus construction, Cattles said it has been smooth. “Onsite work is going well. The weather definitely makes the working conditions nicer, but we haven’t changed anything about what we’re doing over the winter,” he said. “Contractors are on schedule, or ahead of schedule in some cases, on the four buildings that we have framed right now. We’re pleased with the quality and pace of the work so far.”

Whetstone is a 252-unit, 23-building campus on 15 acres focused on workforce housing located along Highway 135 two miles south of Crested Butte.

Cattles summarized that, “there are 23 residential buildings plus two additional structures. One is a shop and lift station and the other is a chlorination building. The four buildings that are framed now will be a total of 117 units including the common space and leasing offices. So, those four buildings are a big part of the total units. We are still planning on the first units being ready for occupancy in early 2027.”