Durango City Council approved preliminary plans earlier this month for Lightner Creek Commons, a 29-unit affordable housing project to be built at the former Animas High School site at 271 Twin Buttes Ave. along U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
Durango City Council approved preliminary plans earlier this month for Lightner Creek Commons, a 29-unit affordable housing project to be built at the former Animas High School site at 271 Twin Buttes Ave. along U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Durango City Council has approved preliminary plans for Lightner Creek Commons, a 29-unit affordable housing project at the former Animas High School site at 271 Twin Buttes Ave. along U.S. Highway 160.

Elevation Community Land Trust and Tributary Development submitted a conceptual development plan last year for the city’s review.

Leanne Bernstein, with the Community Development Department, said the project uses a community land trust model and includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units for sale and employer ownership, targeting households earning 70% to 120% of area median income.

Construction is expected to begin this year, she said.

Elevation Community Land Trust, the Denver-based nonprofit that helped Westside Mobile Park residents form a housing cooperative, is working on another affordable housing project in Durango called the Lightner Creek Commons. Pictured is a conceptual design of the 29-unit apartment complex. (Screenshot)
Elevation Community Land Trust, the Denver-based nonprofit that helped Westside Mobile Park residents form a housing cooperative, is working on another affordable housing project in Durango called the Lightner Creek Commons. Pictured is a conceptual design of the 29-unit apartment complex. (Screenshot)

Bernstein said the first batch of units is projected to open in 2027 with the rest opening in 2028.

Amenities will include bike racks, parking with electric vehicle charging, common areas, exterior storage for each unit and direct access to Lightner Creek Trail, part of which will be constructed on-site.

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Bernstein said the site is unique ‒ it’s long and narrow next to a hill and Lightner Creek ‒ and it took “creativity and flexibility” to make the plan work.

The site has a total of 27,239 square feet. The units to be built include:

Eight one-bedroom, one-bathroom units in stacked duplexes that are 504 square feet each.Nine two-bedroom units with 2½ bathrooms in five-plex townhomes at 1,097 square feet per unit.Three two-bedroom units with two bathrooms in single-story duplex townhomes at 879 square feet each.One two-bedroom, 2½ bathrooms in two-story duplex townhomes at 1,097 square feet each.Six three-bedroom units with 3½ bathrooms in five-plex townhomes at 1,200 square feet each.Two three-bedroom units with 3½ bathrooms in two-story duplex townhomes at 1,200 square feet each.

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