RSSA Perfect Getaway
This home on Wapiti Way has 2,760 square feet, with four bedrooms and 3 baths. The views of Grand Mesa and the Uncompahgre are unbelievable, and the home sits on almost an acre and a half. Orrin Thompson with Real Estate West is listing the property for $325,000.
The Whitewater volunteer fire department isn’t normally staffed, but after responding to two calls in one day, the firefighters pictured above had to take the time to clean and properly stow away equipment. The department currently has 13 volunteers, but would like to have 25 firefighters on the roster to cover the 600 square miles handled by the department.
If elbow room and room for the horses and the toys is a priority, then Whitewater could be a great place to buy a house.
Gateway Canyons Resort opened a spa in August, giving guests an opportunity to relax and soothe sore muscles after a day of riding, hiking or rafting.
Entrada Restaurant opened this summer at Gateway Canyons Resort, giving guests a fine dining experience, offering traditional fare like New York strip steak and featuring local ingredients like Colorado rack of lamb, Olathe sweet corn and Palisade port poached pear.
Whitewater and Gateway, two rural communities south of Grand Junction, have both traditionally appealed to those who want to escape the city life, although the similarities between the two communities don’t extend beyond that.
While Whitewater continues to be a bedroom community of folks who work in the greater Grand Junction area, Gateway has long been a separate community due to its isolated location in Unaweep Canyon.
The secluded nature of Gateway could change as Gateway Canyons Resort continues to grow and invite more people to experience the beauty of the area.
Mesa County approved the resort’s plans for a development that could eventually include up to 340 residential units, which would include estate homes, single-family homes and multi-family homes.
Although the resort has put the project on hold until the economy picks up, a new project by the Discovery Channel called “Curiosity, the Questions of Life,” could fuel interest in the resort.
The resort is the creation of John Hendricks, founder and chairman of Discovery Communications. Hendricks created a lifelong learning retreat and program in western Colorado known as the Experius Academy which is hosted at his Gateway Canyons Resort.
The “Curiosity” project will begin airing in Jan. 2011 and will seek answers to the great questions of life. Some of the filming may be done near Gateway Canyons and there are plans in the works to launch Curiosity Retreats at the resort in 2011, where attendees can relax, engage in recreational activities and learn.
“The Hendricks vision was to create a learning community,” said John Williams with Gateway Canyons. “Our hope is to have experts in various fields offering an educational experience. We’re into participating in nature and participating in lifelong learning that’s inspirational and fun.”
Although the original Gateway Canyons Resort community plans included a golf course, those plans were scrapped due to the economy and the desire to create a community where people retreat to learn, be rejuvenated and appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. They can also relax at the new spa at the resort, which opened in August.
The resort in Gateway provides about 120 jobs during the busy summer season. About a third of the employees live at the resort in employee housing. Some live in the canyon or the community of Gateway and about 40 percent commute from the Grand Junction area, taking advantage of the shuttle provided by the resort. The resort doesn’t have enough history to accurately predict how many jobs will continue during the slower months of late fall and winter.
Energy Fuels, a uranium mining company, hopes to be in a position to offer mining jobs near Gateway at the Whirlwind mine within the next year.
“When it’s in production, it will operate two shifts per day, and will have 55 to 60 total employees,” said Gary Steele, vice-president at Energy Fuels.
The mine has been refurbished, with a state-of-the-art ventilation system and a new water-treatment plant.
“We have all the permissions and permits we’ve applied for, need and sought,” Steele said. The company has also agreed to schedule ore hauling according to a defined and posted schedule as a concession to Gateway Canyons Resort. Mining won’t begin, however until the company builds a uranium processing mill in Montrose County.
“We’re working every day with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,” Steel said. “They’ve put out a decision date of Jan. 2011 to render a decision on the license. If the decision is favorable, we’ll have all the approvals we need to build and operate the mill. Once we break ground, it will take 10 months to be up and ready.”
The mill, which will be located 12 miles west of Naturita, will employ 85 people once it’s up and running. According to Steele, the company has received opposition from people who live outside the county, but has received plenty of support from locals eager for jobs and a boost to their local economy.
In Whitewater, development has lagged because of economic conditions and lack of sewer services.
When the economy will turn around is anybody’s guess, but the sewer service, which will connect the Whitewater core community area to the Clifton sanitation plant, is expected to be finished by June 2011.
“That’s when we hope to have the project completely done and let the customers start flushing,” says Julie Constan, senior engineer with Mesa County. Although the sewer district will be available to just 60 landowners initially, the capacity is for 7,500 homes.
“We realize it’s going to take a very long time to get that type of density out there,” Constan said. “It’s going to be driven by the economy.”
The county recently awarded a contract to Gould Construction out of Glenwood Springs to build a pedestrian bridge that will carry the sewer line across the Colorado River in Clifton and eventually connect with the sewer line under construction in Whitewater. The county plans to seek bids on a lift station that will pump wastewater up the hill to the Clifton plant within the next two months. Construction is scheduled to begin by January.
In preparation for sewer service, the county has offered some Whitewater residents the opportunity to rezone their land from an agricultural zone to an urban zone with higher density. Rezoning doesn’t require homeowners to hook up to the new sewer service, but it is the first step landowners need to take if they ever want to develop their land.
“We’re offering one connection tap at a reduced rate for the initial 60 taps,” Constan said. “We’re hoping it will help existing customers hook into system. If a septic tank fails and there is a sewer line within 400 feet of the property, the homeowner is required to connect to sewer.”
Sewer service will eventually bring higher density housing to the Whitewater area, which will be a huge change to the community, residents enjoy their rural setting an lifestyle, whether they’re in a small-acreage parcel like Pronghorn Estates or on a large, agricultural piece of property up Kannah Creek Road.
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