Negotiations are expected to begin in earnest next month between Colorado State University and the City of Fort Collins regarding the future of a 161-acre site that was once the home of the Hughes Stadium.
The latest ripple in an ongoing wave of legal actions regarding the property is seeing the Colorado Attorney General’s office announcing that the university has a right to develop the site as it pleases, which means that the school can build housing there for its students and employees.
That decision comes after voters in the city approved, by a 68% to 32% margin, a measure directing the city to purchase the land from CSU and rezone it as open space.
What to do with the property has challenged both school and local leaders ever since the school built a new stadium on its Fort Collins campus, leading to the 2018 demolition of the 50 year-old stadium.
Community activists have repeatedly pushed for the site to remain as open space, noting that the housing development plans as previously presented by CSU would be harmful to local wildlife and create too much traffic.
With plans for the site currently stalled, the Colorado State University System has moved to cancel a contract earlier entered into with the Lennar Corporation to develop the property for housing.
The last official proposal for the land presented by the school called for the construction of nearly 700 residential spaces comprised of single-family homes, apartments, duplexes, and townhomes.
CSU has also said that it wants to see the building of an urgent care center, childcare facility, transit hub and some commercial space at the site.
By Garry Boulard
