Grandview sees new facades
BY MARY SHINN
HERALD STAFF WRITER
The commercial corridor along U.S.
Highway 160 east near Three Springs may see more traffic as businesses relocate from other areas.
A new warehouse and Target Rental, a heavy equipment rental store, are moving to the area. Tile & Light Art of Durango and Southwest Appliance recently opened new buildings in Grandview, and an expansion at Alpine Lumber is underway.
The area offers flat land with highway visibility and commercial designations for the city and the county, which makes it attractive, business owners said.
There is a shortage of county land set aside for commercial development and that preclassification can cut up to six months off of a businesses building application, Planner Daniel Murry said.
The area also provides city water and central sewer, which can be attractive to businesses, he said.
Tile & Light Art owner Paul Beasley started looking about five years ago for a new site for his business, which offers countertops, tile and lighting. He was looking for about an acre, with room for a showroom and a warehouse, and good highway access.
He searched in Bodo Industrial Park, along U.S. Highway 160 west and near the Durango-La Plata County Airport.
“We just kept coming back to Three Springs because it seemed to make the most sense,” he said.
The business moved from north Main Avenue to Design Center Road in May and it’s seen far more customers from Pagosa Springs and Bayfield since the move, Beasley said.
“We had a record year in 2016, and 2017 is going to surpass that,” he said.
Target Rental owner Jim Duke’s search for land mirrored Beasley’s experience.
“I spent six months looking for land because we are literally running out of area for our business,” he said.
The business has been the same Bodo building since 1995 and focused mainly on smaller equipment that homeowners might need until 2011, when the company bought the local Bobcat dealership. The purchase allowed the business to expand into heavy equipment, such as excavators.
“We took basically two businesses and fit them into one building,” he said.
In addition to more space,
See GRANDVIEW, 2E
Tile & Light Art, at their new location near Three Springs, have relocated along the U.S. Highway 160 corridor, as some other businesses have done. Business owners said the area is attractive because it offers highway visibility and commercial designations for the city and the county.
JERRY MCBRIDE/ Durango Herald
Paul Beasley, co-owner of Tile & Light Art, at its new location near Three Springs, assists home owner Jessica Zeller, left, and Sarah Sumner, a designer with Fusion Interiors, on Tuesday picking out granite and trim for a home. The business moved from north Main Avenue to Design Center Road in May.
JERRY MCBRIDE/ Durango Herald
Jackie Beasley, co-owner of Tile & Light Art, goes over designs with Lizbeth Harper for her home on Tuesday at their new location near Three Springs.
JERRY MCBRIDE/ Durango Herald
