The Uptown 240 construction site off of Lake Dillon Drive in Dillon is pictured Monday, Sept. 13, 2021.
Sawyer D’Argonne/Summit Daily News
Movement on the planned Uptown 240 mixed-use development — and its 80-unit luxury condominium design — in downtown Dillon has stalled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Dillon Town Attorney Nick Cotton said the developers are close to securing a bridge loan to cover debts owed.
The town received bank letters from owner Danilo Ottoborgo on March 23 stating a lien had been secured for the bridge loan. That, Cotton said, indicates Ottoborgo may secure a bridge loan soon.
The loan would cover debts owed and allow developers to move on to securing money for construction. Should Ottoborgo receive the bridge loan, construction will have until Aug. 30 to resume, according to an agreement between the town and Ottoborgo.
The development has struggled to drum up capital. According to Summit County Treasurer Ryne Scholl, Uptown 240’s 2020 property taxes were not paid and went to a tax sale. An investor paid what Uptown 240 LLC owed in taxes, Scholl says, but the lien on those taxes has not been paid off. In addition, Uptown 240 LLC is delinquent on its 2021 taxes due in 2022, he added. It owes over $157,000 in delinquent taxes, according to Summit County Treasurer’s Office reports.
The town has lately been in the dark about progress on the project, officials say. Ottoborgo and developers have not updated the town on their building plans, Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson said.
“They will still not report back to us,” Johnson said at the Dillon Town Council meeting May 3.
Uptown 240 LLC did not return Summit Daily News’ request for comment as of deadline Monday.
Symmetry Builders Inc., the construction firm building the condos, last worked on the lot in April 2020. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on construction plans.
Ottoborgo had until Dec. 31, 2021, to close on the bridge loan. Since that date passed without Ottoborgo closing on the loan, the town has reserved the right to remove construction materials from town-owned rights-of-way, according to an amendment to the original development agreement.
The town has refrained from exerting that right.
“We’re trying to be as flexible as we can,” Dillon Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said.
The town won’t utilize it’s right to clear the right of way unless the need arises, she said. So far, it has not, and the town would like to give the developers a chance to resume work.
“Once a property owner receives approvals needed to obtain entitlements under Colorado law, local authorities are limited in what actions they may take,” Cotton said.
Cotton emphasized how “private property rights fit into the equation.”
“They not only own the property — they’re also now entitled to develop it,” he said.
The project began when Ottoborgo demolished his restaurant, Adriano’s Bistro & Deli, to build the luxury housing complex.
Construction stalled after developers ran out of money as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Ottoborgo has sought new lenders and loans to kickstart the project, but none have translated to brick and mortar yet.
A Dillon staff summary states that Uptown 240 President Danilo Ottoborgo anticipated receiving a bridge loan at the end of 2021 and another construction loan in the first quarter of 2022.
With this news, the town amended its agreement with the developers in November. The town pushed its deadline for improvement to Oct. 2022.
The amended agreement stated construction on the development, including the public improvements to sidewalks and streets, would resume as soon as possible after developers received the bridge loan and as soon as weather would allow.
Construction has yet to resume.
In September 2021, Ottoborgo told Summit Daily News that weather wasn’t an issue, saying, “Symmetry is very well equipped and adapted to cold climate conditions. Everybody that’s on our team is very capable of building in any season, and so we’ll likely begin to expedite delivery as fast as we can.”