Even with value engineering, the new office building in Eagle County will cost more than planned

Eagle County officials have begun planning work for a new office complex at Freedom Park in Edwards in 2022. Work has not yet begun, but the estimated price has already increased significantly.

The Eagle County Board of Commissioners this week approved a plan to “assess” about $1 million from the project. Even with that plan, the new price tag is estimated at just under $33.9 million.

Jill Klosterman, Eagle County’s chief financial officer, said the county can afford the additional costs and will use about $3 million from the general fund.

The savings are achieved through the use of lower cost materials, changes in material storage, some mechanical changes, changes in exterior lighting, and other changes that do not affect the size or function of the building.

There will be no changes to the 20 apartments that will be part of the project. Work on those units began this week at the Fading West development in Buena Vista. Construction on the prefab units — 16 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units — began this week. Those units will be completed in five to six weeks and will be stored in plaster until they are ready to be assembled into four buildings on the Edwards site.

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Klosterman said the apartments would be rented to tenants who earn about 80 percent of the area’s median income, which is $72,880 a year for one person. A two-person household cannot earn more than $83,280 a year.

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The buildings on the site – for example between the Mountain Recreation Field House and Colorado Mountain College – will be fully electric. There will be a handful of paid garages for some of the apartments, as well as some parking spaces equipped with charging facilities for electric vehicles.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the end of August or beginning of September and the work will take about 18 months.