Montrose - Daily Press

Delta benefits from flourishing business while coping with housing woes

Robert Allen

Daily Press Writer

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DELTA — As an increasing number of businesses and attractions pop up across the city of Delta each year, the housing industry is under constant pressure to keep up with the demand.

Many say Delta’s budding businesses and housing developments are at the point Montrose was 10 years ago. However, others say that’s an understatement.

“In my opinion, I think Delta is quite a bit ahead of where Montrose was 10 years ago,” said Deana Sheriff, executive director of Delta Area Development Inc.

“The number of new positions that are coming into the area, the number of people coming into the area — it’s a really phenomenal thing to see.”

In the past four years, 17 businesses have made their way into Delta, creating more than 600 jobs. Nine of these businesses came in the past year, she said.

Friday, the Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Company celebrated the grand opening of a manufacturing plant for the Western Slope in Delta. The plant will supply single residential family builders, spokesman Mike Stucky said.

“We’ll end up having 50 to 100 employees here over time. It could be more than that as we grow. That’s kind of an as you look down the road kind of a thing,” he said.

In addition, numerous welding, pump and supply industries are also making their way into the area.

“We’re seeing a lot of engineering firms move into our area, and those engineering firms are bringing other engineering firms,” Sheriff said. “Everybody collects in the same place when they’re doing retail, and that’s kind of the same thing that’s happening with engineers.”

A few years ago, Wal-Mart came to Delta. The appearance of this well-known, albeit somewhat notorious company is certainly a sign of a community’s significance to large merchants.

“(Wal-Mart) has become a magnet for additional growth out there on (Colorado) Highway 92. There’s a mall that went in there called Delta Center that’s filling up pretty nicely,” said Brian Cambria, executive director of the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

A parcel east of Wal-Mart is under development soon to support more retail and restaurants, he said.

“But a number of businesses have also suffered as a result. What I hear is that within a few years, one of our grocery stores is likely to lose the battle,” Cambria said. “And we have three grocery stores in Delta, so we try not to see any of them go away because they all provide jobs and product and options for people.”

As Delta continues to bring in larger businesses, the emphasis on diversity becomes increasingly significant.

“We’re working hard to make sure our industries are diversified,” Sheriff said. “That’s the challenge of economic development is you want to take advantage of those good things while always keeping an eye on something else to fall back on should we need to do so.”

In addition, it is easy for the culture of a small town to become diluted as corporate entities grow. Part of the appeal that brings families into Delta is its quaint, small-town atmosphere.

“Delta has something that Montrose and Grand Junction don’t have right now. We still have that sense of being a unique town on the Western Slope,” Cambria said. “I like to say we’re authentic western. There is a strong sense of identity here. A lot of folks are here because they choose to be here.

“My hope is that we can continue to see Delta develop by maintaining that identity and maintaining a downtown that is really popular.”

A place to stay

If there’s one limitation to growth in Delta, it’s a lack of homes affordable to the spectrum of residents.

Sheriff recently attended a meeting regarding the lack of affordable housing for teachers and police officers in the community.

“(These are) really critical support personnel within our area that are very important to keep our economy going,” Sheriff said.

The zoning of subdivisions is a common occurrence at Delta City Council meetings, and several homes are under construction.

In 2001, the city of Delta issued permits for nine single family dwellings. In 2006, there were 105, according to a document from the Delta Community Development office.

“We’re in an exponential growth cycle right now,” Glen Black, director of Delta Community Development, said.

The city currently has no comprehensive plan for handling the growth. However, leaders are working to get a grant for such a plan, possibly as soon as April, he said.

“We’ll need community input as far as what’s to come with a comprehensive plan,” Black said.

The homes popping up across Delta are not only necessary for sustaining growth, but are a good investment.

Ryan Murphy, broker associate for Horizons Real Estate, Marketing and Sales, said the market is alluring enough for him to move his family to Delta from Fort Collins.

Homes in Fort Collins are depreciating at about 3.5 percent per year, but in Delta, his research revealed an appreciation rate of about 11 percent, Murphy said.

“In Fort Collins it’s a buyer’s market, without a doubt,” he said. “And here it’s more of a seller’s market because this place is sought after.”

Murphy works in the Stone Mountain Village housing addition, which began about a year and a half ago. It is forecasted to bring about 400 homes to Delta, in about four phases. The first phase is at about 32 homes and growing, he said.

“It’s actually the whole spectrum. I’ve got young couples with children, I’ve got retirees, I’ve got investors,” Murphy said with regard to the demographics of people buying homes in his addition.

The city is in the process of selling about 200 acres of land north of town, overlooking the Devil’s Thumb Golf Club, to be zoned for housing. This land should make for some alluring real estate, as the course averages about 120 golfers per day on weekends, Steve Simianer, Delta Golf Division Director, said.

“I hear people say it all the time that they move here because of the golf course,” Simianer said. “I think it certainly enhances the quality of life here.”

Progress is also being made in annexing an area near Sweitzer Lake into Delta. This land would eventually be home to about 300 housing units, Black said.

Traffic through Delta is an issue the city is in active pursuit of assuaging with its alternate truck route project. The project, executed in two phases, will first realign the railroad tracks passing through town, then pave a road to carry traffic through the old railroad corridor. It is expected to be complete by 2010.

And with all the residents moving in, vacancies must be available for the friends and family coming into visit Delta.

“One of our biggest problems right now is that we have so many events and so few hotel rooms. We only have 264 rentable beds in all of Delta County,” Sheriff said.

The occupancy rate of nearby hotels, motels and even bed and breakfasts is 100 percent from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and 77 percent throughout the year, she said.

Such events as the Council Tree Pow Wow and Cultural Festival and nearby fruit festivals celebrating everything from apples to cherries lure outsiders to stay in Delta. However, they must often resort to spending nights and money in Montrose and Grand Junction because the Delta lodgings are full, Sheriff said.

“But it’s an exciting place, it’s fun to be here now,” she said. “And for anybody who lived here 20 years ago you can’t help but see the vibrancy and the change in this area.

“And I think everybody’s kind of enjoying the excitement right now.”

Contact Robert Allen via e-mail at roberta@montrosepress.com

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