DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. - Land once slotted for an elementary school may be developed for affordable housing in the future after the Douglas County School Board voted 6-0 on Tuesday to declare a piece of land near the Meridian Village community as surplus.
Douglas County School Board Director Brad Geiger said the district does not want to hold onto land it will not use. He noted there is an elementary school to the east of Meridian Village, another school being built to the west, and a separate piece of land in the area that could be used for a school in the future if needed.
"We don't want to be a land bank," Geiger said.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Tyler Melito reports on what the change could mean for the community
One popular proposal for the surplus land is to build multifamily, affordable housing for people who work in the county, including school and road workers.
"We need multifamily, we need more affordable housing," Geiger said. "This is not Section 8, this is not poverty housing, but it's an ability for — the people who work in our county should be able to live in our county, the people who service our schools, people who service our road."
Meridian Village resident Michael Pritchard agrees with the idea of building affordable housing for teachers.
"I would probably be in favor of affordable housing for teachers. My daughter's a teacher, actually, and I understand how important that is, and how crucial teachers are, and sometimes how housing has gotten unaffordable for people in those types of positions," Pritchard said. "You should be able to afford to live in the community where you work.
Shea Properties, a developer that owns more than a dozen apartment complexes with more than 3,000 units across Colorado, has already submitted a proposal for the site. According to the company, 28% of its apartments are designated as affordable housing.
A spokesperson for the company declined an interview request to provide more details.
Geiger views the potential housing project as something that will help Douglas County and the school district grow in the long term.
"The more housing is a little bit more affordable, the more students we get, the more families we get. Families get priced out of Douglas County, and particularly in that area," he said. "And if we can bring in a few more families, and our schools are healthier, our funding is healthier. Again, it can be a win-win for everybody, as long as you listen to all the stakeholders."
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