MVS plans forming for Centennial, landfill

       With the Indian Hills subdivision paving project finishing up between Van Buren Street and Mesa Valley Road, a tentative timetable was revealed this week for another segment of the long-envisioned Centennial Boulevard extension.
       Ted Waterman, part of the MVS group that plans to build houses on 47 acres south and southwest of Van Buren and Centennial, said “we're hoping” to start excavation work as early as January 2012. The earth movement will involve restoration of a former 18-acre landfill - as required by the Colorado Health Department - as well as construction of about 550 feet of Centennial that will link with Indian Hills's quarter-mile to the south and the previously built quarter-mile connecting with Fillmore Street to the north.

Even Preisser crews are shown during a recent stage in the paving of the Indian Hills segment of Centennial Boulevard. Just behind them is the 550-foot segment that the MVS development will be constructing.
Westside Pioneer photo

       Working in the two areas at the same time should be “self-contained” enough that MVS will not need to transport dirt on or off the site, Waterman said. That would be a plus for the neighborhood, he added, because Mesa Valley and Van Buren are the only roads in and both go through residential areas.
       The only materials that would have to be brought in would be those related to the paving, he said.
       MVS had hoped to start excavating sooner, but had to reapply to the state for a new Voluntary Cleanup Plan (VCUP) permit for the landfill because the old one had expired - a result of the city approval process last year taking longer than anticipated. “It took us eight months to get it [the new permit] done,” he said.
       He anticipates the earthwork being done by summer. As for when homes might go in, Waterman said MVS has “no specific plans at this point,” especially with home sales remaining in a slump. When the earthwork is complete, “we'll monitor the market” and make a decision then, he said. “We're moving forward. I think by the end of summer it [the land in that area] will look a lot different than it does now.”
       Regarding the Indian Hills paving, the city contracted it out, using a $236,000 bond that had been posted by Indian Hills' developers in 2004. The city had required them to build the four-lane Centennial extension segment next to the 80-lot townhome project, but they went bankrupt after building only about 20 of the units.
       The bond was not quite enough to pay for the full paving job, but came closer to doing so than the city had expected. The bid from Even Preisser in August had been just under $214,000. At the time, Lydia Maring of City Engineering estimated the result would be a paving job two inches short of a full overlay. As it turned out, Even Preisser reached came in slightly under bid, allowing the final two inches to be poured on the northbound side. As for southbound, the city's hope is that a future developer - possibly one to finish Indian Hills or to build on the vacant property on the west side of the extension there - might eventually take care of that two-inch shortfall.
       She said a future developer in that segment might also be asked to finish the extension's sidewalks, curb and gutter and median improvements. The streetlights also need rewiring (the original wiring having been stolen).
       MVS' two earthwork areas will be more than a quarter-mile apart. The 550-foot extension segment is north of the MVS property, but is owned by a bank that is OK with the paving there because it increases the property's value. The city came up with the plan to have MVS do the bank portion. That would mean the extension from Fillmore to Van Buren would be done, leaving about a mile to be built south of Van Buren to the Fontanero Street interchange at I-25. City transportation officials have suggested paying for much of that portion with Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) funds, assuming citizens vote to continue the RTA after 2014.

Westside Pioneer article