“We are still a farm, but we are working hard to change that.”
It's been a minute since we have provided a update on all the things we are working hard on at Montava and today seemed like just the day to do that. Late last year we received great news from the City of Ft Collins when they said our civil plans were ready for approval just as soon as we provided a signed copy of a agreement with a irrigation company we are working with. Unfortunately, despite all our efforts to provide a safe underground system to move their water through a section of Montava, we weren’t able to reach a final agreement. So with a long pause in front of us while we ask the courts to assist us in coming to a final and reasonable agreement, we have refocused out efforts on a new and different phase to get us started.
Right now we are working with our consultants and the City to design and reach approval on this new phase as soon as possible so we can start construction hopefully in Q1 of 2025. This idea was conceptualized in January, RFP’s for design issued in February and awarded in early March with our first submittal planned for the first week in May to the city. We are working very closely with our partners at the City of Ft Collins to do everything we can to set this project up for success so we can bring our first neighborhood in Montava to life as soon as we can and will keep you all posted as things progress. Rest assured we are still committed to design values anchored in New Urbanism and urban agriculture.
So why did I mention that we are still a farm? Well this is a very busy season in Northern Colorado for our friends that have been farming this land for many decades now. As the fields are getting prepped for seeding it seemed like a terrible time for me to ask them to mow out some areas for our Geotechnical team to get out into the fields to start drilling for what we call borings to help guide our designs. With the spring schedule in full force, they handed me the keys and off I was running on John Deere tractor that was purchased when our farming partner was 1 year old…..he is 63 now and this machine started right up! Following a few hours of mowing, I then enjoyed spoiling two mares kept on the property who are living their best lives just being horses in Northern Colorado with some carrots and sugar cubes.
Montava has long agricultural history in its story that we cannot wait to honor and embrace with our plans for the future that we are working on writing everyday. Stay tuned and we promise to provide regular updates in the future as things move forward.