City officials are advancing plans for a major affordable housing development on the 14-acre site of the former Montezuma-Cortez High School on West Seventh Street.
The development remains in the early stages, with funding options and a public outreach process still taking shape.
However, officials said the city is in exclusive negotiations with Evergreen Real Estate. Plans call for the construction of 70 rental units on land the city acquired from the school district in November 2018.
“This site is poised to become a vibrant new residential neighborhood designed to address the growing need for affordable and workforce housing in Cortez,” the city said in an April 2025 news release as it sought bids from developers, builders and collaborators.
“The 14-acre site of the old Montezuma-Cortez High School was envisioned as a park with a smaller section slated for housing. However, because of a pressing need for housing, the plans have been adjusted,” the release said.
Under the current concept, the land would be divided into two sections. Seventy housing units are planned for the east side of the property, while the western half is intended to become a public park.
According to city documents, the units would be priced for singles and families earning 30% to 80% of the area median income, or about $24,480 to $65,280 a year for a two-person household.
The project includes infrastructure plans to extend Elm Street from Fifth Street to Seventh Street, running through the center of the development.
Funding for the project remains uncertain.
Scott Baker, the city’s grants coordinator, appeared Monday before the Montezuma County Commission to request its endorsement of an application for 2027 congressional earmarks through the offices of U.S. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. Application materials are due Friday.
The city is seeking $3 million in funding.
“There’s already been quite a bit of scoping and planning around the project, and the hope is to see that development occur sooner rather than later,” Baker told the board.
County commissioners voiced full support for the initiative, noting the project has been discussed for several years and expressing eagerness to see progress move forward.
“The only question I will ask is, Is the city going to manage these if they get built?” Commissioner Jim Candelaria said.
Baker said the development would be owned by the developer.
“We are trying to negotiate what is going to be best for the neighborhood. … Trying to find the happy medium to balance between what the community needs and what the developer is willing to do,” Baker said.
According to city documents, the project is known as the Park Village Housing Project. The city issued a request for proposals March 26, 2025, for development on the north side of West Seventh Street between South Oak Street and South Chestnut Street, the site of the former high school.
The project aligns with a housing study city officials commissioned in 2023.
Housing remains a critical need for Cortez’s roughly 8,900 residents, as job growth and population growth continue to outpace the supply of available homes. The 2023 assessment examined conditions shaping the city’s housing stock and market.
The study found a low rental vacancy rate, estimated at about 1.4%, which has driven prices higher. Combined with a limited supply of homes for sale, the shortage has made it more difficult for local employers to recruit and retain workers.
The study recommended several approaches to address the shortage, including improvements to land-use codes, which city officials updated last year.
Additional recommendations included increasing housing supply and diversity, developing more partnerships with developers and seeking new funding from federal, state and philanthropic sources.
“It’s been a few years now, and I think we would like to see some more momentum occur,” Baker said Monday.
awatson@the-journal.com
