Colorado town could see hundreds of new homes with Chateau Valley development
After years of slow progress, a new development in in a Colorado town is finally close to getting the green light.
The final neighborhood meeting over the proposed Chateau Valley development in Castle Rock took place at town hall on Monday.
The development has been in the works for years, planned to be located east of Memmen Park, north of the Baldwin Park subdivision, and south of the Southridge Townhome subdivision.
The land, owned by the Memmen family, has been earmarked for development since the 1980s, but some neighbors aren't happy to see those plans coming to fruition.
Developer Russell Hall of Highline Engineering & Surveying plans to turn the land into about 400 homes, a mix of houses and duplexes.
"It's providing more affordable housing to the town of Castle Rock," said Hall, general manager of Chateau Valley LLC.
The 113 acres that may soon become Chateau Valley are surrounded on three sides by homes.
"We hope to infill this project with residential development that would blend in with the surrounding properties," Hall said.
The project will also extend dead-end roads like Valley Drive and Ash Avenue.
"It's going to provide better access to the existing homes as well as through this development, and shorter time and emergency vehicle response times," Hall said.
But neighbors on Ash Avenue have been speaking out against the project for years. In January 2024, they told CBS Colorado they feared the changes Chateau Valley may bring to their street.
"It's gonna open it up where it becomes a thoroughfare people come through it," resident Scott Gricks told CBS Colorado in 2024.
"Ash Avenue is older homes. Parking in the street. Children play outside on their bikes," resident Maureen O'Reilly told CBS Colorado in 2024.
Since then, O'Reilly sold her home after nearly 45 years on the street. She says the incoming development contributed to her decision to leave. She and others told CBS Colorado they're still opposed to the development, worried about traffic and water.
"They're not going to see a huge influx of traffic as a result of this development," Hall said. "It's always going to be a concern with regards to traffic. We are proposing 402 lots with this subdivision. That's going to have some traffic impact. We feel that the connectivity through the side streets, as well as Valley Drive, all combined will have a reasonable impact to the traffic situation."
Neighbors had one last neighborhood meeting to bring those concerns up Monday night.
"I think that we've addressed many of the concerns that the neighborhoods have brought to our neighborhood meetings in the past," Hall said.
Hall says plans will maintain 50 acres of open space, and build a regional trail.
Because the land was annexed into Castle Rock decades ago, the town says it has been planning to provide water to this development for years.
The Castle Rock Planning Commission is scheduled to take this up on Aug. 13, followed by the Town Council on Sept. 1.
