Northern Colorado town purchasing farmland for $20M in effort to expand open space
The town of Windsor is under contract to purchase more than 200 acres of land north of its downtown shopping district. The town will spend more than $20 million to purchase the property and its water access rights.
The move comes years after Windsor voters approved a measure to increase taxes in order to purchase and maintain open spaces in perpetuity.
"We really like Windsor because of the open space, and there are a lot of nice places to go," said Bill Sparks, a new resident to Windsor.
Sparks, his wife and his dog Charlie relocated to Windsor from nearby Severance.
"We've got rabbits up the galore, which Charlie loves, and squirrels and deer," Sparks said.
The Poudre Trail and river are among the many very popular outdoor outlets people have to explore the growing community. Just in the last 15 years, Windsor's population has ballooned from around 18,000 residents to more than 42,000.
As many farming properties have been swallowed up by developers -- putting up large apartment complexes and expensive neighborhoods -- the town's voters elected to spend taxpayer dollars on purchasing existing farmland. In doing so, the community wants to better create a visible buffer around the town via open space.
"It is really important for them to have access to those," said Wade Willis, open space and trails manager for the town of Windsor. "Everybody loves trails. The highest mark we get in almost all of our surveys is on our existing trail system and a strong desire for more."
That is why the town is now under contract to purchase the more than 200 acres of farmland north of the brand-new police department and middle school, which is nearing completion. Willis said the current owner expressed a desire to see the property continue to remain undeveloped in honor of the wishes of the original owner.
Willis said the voters also expressed their desires for there to be further preservation of wildlife, wetlands and more.
"This property represents every single one of those values. I think Windsor is really going to be proud. This is a legacy project; it is unique to find something like this. Especially with all the development pressure around the community," Willis said.
Sparks said he is already looking forward to getting outdoors in the new open space if and when the sale is finalized.
"It'll be nice for sure," Sparks said.
Of the more than $20 million price tag, around $8 million will be used to purchase the water rights from the current owner. That includes nearly 90 shares of the Big Thompson, as well as nearly 10 shares of the water that flows through the nearby canal.
