The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
New Arts Center moves into high gear
It wasn’t intended to be a mobile unit, but the proposed Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center (PAC) is on the move.
The PAC was previously slated for construction on the piece of land north of Treasury Road known as the “Rasta Lot.” Now, Crested Butte Mountain Resort plans to donate .87 acres of land, located in the current parking area just south of Treasury Road, to the town of Mt. Crested Butte for the purpose of constructing the arts center. The town already owns an adjacent 1.83-acre parcel, and development of the PAC on the proposed site will require joint filing of a revised Planned Unit Development (PUD) application.
A Letter of Understanding between CBMR, Crested Butte Music Festival, Mt. Crested Butte Downtown Development Authority (DDA), and the town of Mt. Crested Butte regarding the new PAC location was presented to the DDA during its January 4 meeting and to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council on January 5. Both entities approved the letter, as did the Crested Butte Music Festival.
The next step will be filing a revised PUD application to the town by February 28, 2010, according to the letter
Michael Kraatz, CBMR’s Vice President of Resort Planning and Development, said building the PAC on the new parcel will be important as CBMR’s develops its plans for Mountaineer Square North. “We see the Performing Arts Center as being a real anchor for that project, and being a draw and economic stimulator for Mountaineer Square North, the town and this whole end of the valley.”
Kraatz said CBMR decided to donate the parcel to the town because, “To accommodate the footprint that the town and Music Festival envision [for the PAC], they need additional land and that’s why we’re donating that parcel. We see it working well with our conference services, expanding our conference offerings, and being able to use that facility for meetings and presentations. Just having another draw like that up here helps fill the bed base, retailers, restaurant owners, and it’s generally a good economic driver.”
There are other perceived benefits to the new site, particularly regarding parking and infrastructure. The previous location was going to have an underground parking facility, which would eat into some of the $6 million in bond issues from the town.
Instead the PAC and CBMR will likely share parking areas and, according to Kraatz, the plan is to eventually build a two-story above ground parking facility.
Mt. Crested Butte Mayor William Buck said, “I think it makes sense when you look at it: at face value it’s an enlarged site, we’re doubling the size of the total area of the PAC. We see it as more of a complex, with outdoor venues and outdoor amphitheaters. It will be easier to build, and will allow us to put more funds into the actual structure versus the infrastructure.”
One of the next steps is submitting a revised PUD for Mountaineer Square North. Kraatz said the new plan will have some significant changes when compared to the last one. The number of residential units will shrink significantly, but commercial will stay similar to the previous plan. “The current PUD is for over 400 residential units; the new plan will probably be well under 100,” Kraatz said. Mountaineer Square North “will become a business core for the town of Mt. Crested Butte, as opposed to mixed use with the heavy emphasis on residential.”
“We kicked it off with the Development Agreement; we still have hurdles to get over,” Buck said. “Now the work starts—getting down to the nuts and bolts and getting into the public process.”
