The developer proposing major projects in Dillon is now eyeing a new property in the town center as a potential location for workforce housing.

The Triveni Square Metropolitan District associated with Developer Jake Porritt’s proposed developments in Dillon is looking to amend its boundaries to include 346, 348, 350 and 352 Lake Dillon Drive.

The Dillon Town Council has scheduled a public hearing at its meeting Tuesday, March 11, to consider the amendment to the metro district. Porritt Group representative Jesse Grewal told the council at its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11, that Porritt intends to build workforce housing and commercial space at the new site.

Grewal said that the Porritt Group chose the new site after previously considering building workforce housing atop a parking structure proposed near the corner of Lake Dillon Drive and East La Bonte Street. The development group had previously proposed 143 workforce housing units, 445 parking spaces in a multi-level parking structure and over 21,000 square feet of commercial space, the majority of which would be a grocery store, where the Pug Ryan’s building and Payne building now stand.

“Ultimately based on some feedback we got from the surrounding neighbors, they said it would be too impactful, especially to the Dillon Tech Center, it would obscure their views, and just be too large of a project for that location,” Grewal said. “So with that in mind, we still wanted to bring a workforce housing project to town, so our team evaluated a few more options.”

The Porritt Group has since scaled down its proposal for the area near Pug Ryan’s to include a parking structure with about 289 spots, a restaurant and a grocery store. The Dillon Urban Renewal Authority last month entered a public-private partnership with the developer to pursue the parking structure, restaurant and grocery store project.

With workforce housing no longer planned for the Pug Ryan’s site, Grewal said the Porritt Group still wanted to bring workforce housing to Dillon. The business community, including the grocery store and restaurant tenants interested in filling the Pug Ryan’s space, had expressed interest in having local workforce housing available, he said.

“Our plan essentially is to bring a substantial amount of workforce housing units in addition to a small retail component that will be housed by local businesses that wish to relocate,” Grewal said. “We’ve been wanting to do this for a while, especially as we continue conversations with some of the retailers we plan to bring into town.”

The proposed amendment to the metro districts inclusionary area would also add town-owned properties near the Pug Ryan’s building that are related to the public-private partnership that the town council plans to pursue with the Porritt Group for the site. It would also remove 312 Dillon Ridge Road, another location that the Porritt Group had considered for workforce housing, from the inclusionary area.

A metro district is a quasi-governmental unit in Colorado that allows developers to establish a special taxing district to fund public infrastructure like roads and sewer systems to support a new development project. Metro districts cannot fund private parts of a development.