During a regular meeting held by the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the board unanimously approved a letter of intent (LOI) with Pagosa Partners I Inc. for the purchase of a property located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive for the purpose of constructing a new county administration building.
The decision came after the BoCC entered into an executive session, which lasted approximately 15 minutes. Following the executive session, County Attorney Todd Weaver explained that the LOI is nonbinding and includes two purchase options.
One option is for the county to purchase four acres, with a right of first refusal on an additional 1.5 acres. The second option is for the county to purchase the entire 5.5-acre parcel, Weaver explained.
During a work session held by the BoCC on Dec. 17, 2024, County Manager Jack Harper indicated that the county could purchase four acres for $1,879,000 with the option to purchase the additional 1.5 acres of the Cornerstone property for $700,000.
In August 2024, the BoCC considered a different LOI and a purchase and sale agreement with ArenaLabs LLC for a property located at South Pagosa Boulevard and U.S. 160, across from Pagosa Springs Medical Center.
The BoCC ultimately tabled its decision on both of those matters until Dec. 17, 2024, when it approved giving staff direction to moving forward with purchasing the property located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive.
Commissioner Veronica Medina did not vote on the matter in the Dec. 17, 2024, meeting, but did vote in favor of approving the LOI on Feb. 4.
In December 2022, the county approved the sale of the old courthouse building located at 449 San Juan St., which currently houses multiple county offices.
According to the sale agreement, the county received $550,000 for the courthouse as well as a 10 percent undivided ownership interest in a 40-acre property on Condor Drive near Stevens Field airport.
The agreement also gave the county the option to lease back the portion of the old courthouse housing county offices at no cost for five years.
More recently, during the Dec. 17, 2024, BoCC meeting, Commissioner Warren Brown indicated that its “unrealistic” to assume the owner of the old courthouse building — currently housing the county clerk, assessor and treasurer — would grant the county an extension on the lease, at least not without some delay or “other considerations.”
