Sawyer D’Argonne/Summit Daily News
Uptown 240’s new lender appeared before Dillon City Council on Tuesday to allay some concerns about the project and ensure its full path to completion was being formed, although some steps back should be done before construction can continue.
“There is a horizon,” said Jake Porritt, managing member of the Porritt Group. He said they were trying to create the light at the end of the tunnel, but there is no way of knowing how long this tunnel will last, or how many obstacles it will contain. “The building is buildable and will be a quality build,” he said.
The Porritt Group has purchased Uptown 240’s debt, giving developer Danilo Ottoborgo the ability to seek the capital needed to continue building the planned 80-unit luxury condominium project in Dillon, Porritt said. Ottoborgo said the project will continue as planned within the limits of its original construction agreement.
“It is our intention to complete the project as designed,” Porritt said. Addressing Uptown 240’s problematic past, he said, “It’s a very common storyline for us.”
The Uptown 240 team is currently working on distressed property legal scenarios, Porritt said.
But before that can happen, cleanup work needs to be carried out at the site due to its dilapidated state. There are ongoing conversations about cleaning the sidewalk in front of the site and more.
Sections of the concrete pours at the site will be reinforced in the coming months, likely before winter, as Porritt said the weight of snowfall over the past two winters has strained them. It was determined after a structural engineer visited the site that Summit County’s snow weight was greater than the concrete structures were supposed to hold in their unfinished state.
Additionally, the snow damage is sufficient to require some sections to be demolished in the spring, Porritt said. The foundation contains four concrete pours and a bottom slab, and it’s likely that three of the four pours will be demolished in the spring, Porritt said, leaving one pour and the base slab. The entire development team is looking to keep the current version as much as possible, he said.
Overall, Porritt said deconstruction was not a negative thing and work should continue. He said there was no need for a new developer yet, but the board still imposed deadlines on Ottoborgo and threatened to move on to a new developer if he hesitated to move forward.
Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said she would like the project completed, but the city needs a return on investment. The Dillon Urban Renewal Authority entered into a property tax increase agreement with Uptown 240 in 2021 to refund certain property tax revenues received exclusively from Uptown 240 for project improvements. Additionally, additional funding would be made available whenever Uptown 240’s property value increases from the previous year, but this would only come into play once the structure is habitable and receives its certificate. of occupancy.
“At no time will I make a decision that does not benefit all of you,” Ottoborgo said, addressing the council as city representatives. He said he understood the city’s desire to see the project go ahead.
Mayor Carolyn Skowyra raised the idea of a question-and-answer session between the lender, developer and Dillon residents. A handful of residents attended Tuesday’s meeting with the intention of hearing from the Uptown 240 team.
Porritt said he was open to the idea.
“I was your biggest cheerleader on this,” Skowyra said, speaking to Danilo. “But something has to happen. We cannot sit idly by for another 13 months.
The Uptown 240 property sat without notable development for months. The last major event was the removal of the crane that overlooked the lot in June. Previously, the property had been untouched by developers since funding disappeared at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project was launched in June 2019 with the support of the city. The Ottoborgos demolished their family restaurant, Adriano’s Bistro, to open the door to the project. The condos would be one facet of the city’s main revitalization goal.
