DURANGO, Colo. – Growth. For years the residents of La Plata County in general, and Durango in particular, have heard that there’s no stopping it. As long as quality of life remains high – be it natural beauty, economic vibrancy or outdoor appeal – people will continue to come. And, part and parcel with the growth issue is housing – affordable, sustainable and potential “sprawl.”

Enter Edgemont Highlands, a development launched in 2003 that has sprouted, evolved and is succeeding because of and in the face of all of the aforementioned, and more.

Located northeast on Florida Rd., approximately five miles from the Durango city limits, Edgemont Highlands in some form or another has been on the books since the early eighties. Initial owner/developer, the late Tom Villelli had visions of a complete resort community – including significant retail, a golf course and a hotel on the 1,400 acre ranch. The county had approved the concept. It could have happened, save apparently for fate.

“There had been so many stops and starts with Edgemont, and so many grand visions,” said Tom Gorton, a homebuilder for 35 years and Edgemont Highlands developer, noting the project had lost credibility with the real

Edgemont Highlands features a residential development integrated into the natural environment.

estate community and many buyers. “My vision is to make it a residential community for a broad spectrum of people.”

Today Edgemont Highlands, with barely the first two phases on the 500 acre property sold or built, is already garnering national attention. At its core, the development is designed with respect for the natural features of the property – beautiful, but a challenge at best, given the rugged, rocky terrain, studded with dense Ponderosa pine and Gambel oak.

Gorton sees the land planning as key to creating a sustainable development, crediting Jeff Zimmerman of Design Workshop, Denver, for his ability to look at the entire parcel with an eye for utilizing the natural landscape. As a result, the infrastructure, housing, communal buildings, trails and open space blend as if always intended to be there.

“When we went back to get our approvals from the county, we reduced the density of what was approved by 265 units, and we took all of the acreage that had been approved for the golf course and dedicated that amount of acreage to open space,” said Gorton, explaining that at build-out 40 percent of the land will be open space. “By doing that we have preserved the canyons, the steeper areas and the natural drainage areas that are utilized by wildlife.”

Edgemont Highlands has initial approval for 1000 lots, but as final approvals come to fruition, Gorton expects the total to be significantly less, perhaps even half. Some multi-family lots are available, and the single family home lots range from higher-density 10,000 sq.ft. parcels up to 2.5 acre lots higher on the property.

The initial homes, as well as the lodge/community center, were key pieces for setting the “tone” of the architectural feel of the development, designed to “show good faith” by the developers by incorporating sustainable building practices.

“A lot of the wood in this structure was milled on site from trees that we took out when built the roads,” said Gorton of the lodge. “And our mail structure, which we’re working on at the west entry, with the exception of some structural lumber, the entire interior and exterior is all from trees that we milled on site.”

A sometimes over-looked aspect of sustainable or “green” building is the impact of transport of materials.

“It doesn’t really make sense if you use an ecologically friendly product that happens to be bulky, but it has to come from New York, so a truck has had to drive all the way across country,” said Gorton. “By using the materials off of the site, we really felt like we could accomplish something that was both aesthetic and sensible and understated.”

The development owns a large chipper, which is put to use in creation of the walking trails that criss-cross the

The Edgemont Highlands Trail system features materials from the site.

property – currently some five miles worth. The trails are lined with the small trees removed for road construction, and the recycled wood chips cover the trail surface.

Additionally, the two entrances off of Florida Rd. are adorned with moss rock found on the property. Artwork in the form of two large iron sculptures, was, however, brought in to make a significant statement about development – without signage.

The concept for the larger-than-life pine cone and oak branch was Creative Conspiracy’s, the design firm that incorporated use of the pine needle in the Edgemont Highlands logo to exemplify the simple perfection of nature. The pieces (built by iron artist Dave Claussen) are designed to welcome visitors and residents to what is considered a “new” kind of neighborhood in an understated fashion.

“The sculptures at our entries have been so well received,” said Gorton. “It’s a whole different way of announcing yourself. I never subscribed to the idea that it had to be big and flashy in order to catch people’s eye.”

An extensive set of design guidelines is attached to all development in Edgemont Highlands – purportedly not so rigid that all the homes look alike, but one that generates homes compatible with the natural forest setting. Sustainable efforts, such as installation of photovoltaic (solar energy collection) panels, not always permitted in traditional subdivisions, are allowed to encourage homebuilders and owners to be as “green” as they desire.

Though not a requirement, most of the homes in Edgemont Highlands are Energy Star rated and certified “Built Green” by the State of Colorado. Four Corners Construction was named Colorado’s 2005 Built Green Builder of the Year for the Copperhead Camp project, and the Highland Homes Villa Ladera model was named Colorado’s Built Green Home of the Year in the $500,000+ category. Gorton’s office provides information to builders to help facilitate their own green building efforts.

Though Edgemont Highlands has a state-of-the-art water and sewer treatment facility – one of the forward-thinking aspects Gorton credits to Villelli – residents are required to follow stringent landscaping requirements and use of indigenous plants. The development team created a re-vegetation seed mix of grasses specifically designed for Edgemont Highlands. “Big lawns” of Kentucky blue grass are not allowed.

“We’re in a high desert. It doesn’t make sense,” said Gorton, noting that landscape architect Linda Robinson has cataloged more than 150 native plants from the site that will be displayed for homeowners in a herbarium in the lodge. “There are a lot of things you can do.”

Working towards “affordability,” smaller lots in Edgemont Highlands are in the $125,000 range, which Gorton acknowledges is still expensive, but, compared to all else available near or in town, they remains a good value. The completed houses range in price from roughly $400,000 up to just shy of $1 million.

Tom Gorton relaxes outside the Edgemont Highlands community lodge.

“We’ve gotten a lot of compliments about how we’ve gone about the project and how we’re doing it,” said Gorton. “I’m sure there are people who would say, ‘It would be nicer with nothing,’ but people need to live in houses. So we’re trying to do it in a responsible way, and continuing to try to get better and better at it. I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done so far.”

Learn more about Edgemont Highlands on line at www.edgemonthighlands.com.

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