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Revived subdivision includes 140 home lots in Steamboat city limits

Developer Bob Zibell intends to break ground this spring on the previously approved 140 residential lots within the Steamboat Springs city limits at Overlook Park. West End Village and West Acres mobile home park are to the right of the frame.
Courtesy image

A jet in the garage?

In addition to his plans for the Overlook Park residential subdivision, developer Bob Zibell is confident that a new “airpark” residential subdivision at nearby Steamboat Springs Airport/Bob Adams Field would infuse the municipal airport with new revenues generated by  airplane owners who would pay landing fees and purchase fuel.    

In this case, the pilots and their families would be living on the edge of the airport. They would base their aircraft in a new residential subdivision on the west side of the runway where the streets would be taxiways, Zibell explained.

The new homes would have the typical garage for automobiles but also a 70- by 70-foot hangar where residents could park the family jet.

Zibell pulled a city permit late last year to build an access road that will wind up a steep south-facing hill from Gloria Gossard Parkway and allow project planners to assess the development site, which he has acquired.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The revival of a fully approved, 140-lot, 70-acre residential subdivision on the west side of Steamboat Springs has the potential to take some of the pressure off of the city’s super tight housing market.

Developer Bob Zibell acquired the Overlook Park Subdivision from Yampa Valley Electric Association in mid-January for $3,282,500.

“We’re getting ready to push dirt out there as soon as the snow is gone,” Zibell said. “Our goal is to have some lots (priced) in the high $200,000 range. I think some of these can be affordable.”



City Planning Director Tyler Gibbs said Zibell would still have to apply for the associated grading permits to begin construction.

“He hasn’t re-submitted anything,” Gibbs said. “Once we get an actual submittal, we’d compare that to the actual approval for any tweaks and look at it under the substantial conformance criteria. It’s nice to see somebody move forward with something so close to the original approval.”



After a lengthy development permit process, the original developers  were awarded a permit to build homes in three different parcels — one with small homes with rear-loaded garages on alleyways, another  parcel designated for hilltop lots with views of Steamboat Ski Area, and a third with nine duplex lots and two pods of light commercial development.

Three very significant circumstances at Overlook Park include the fact that it is located just inside the city limits and already has the vested  city permits it needs to proceed. That means Zibell does not have to go through a lengthy and uncertain annexation permit process.

Zibell, who previously owned and operated a general aviation business at the airport in Topeka, Kansas, said he’s optimistic that he can deliver the first lots to the market later this year if all goes as expected.

Housing development almost got away

Overlook Park came very close to becoming something very different from the residential neighborhood that the original developers had in mind.

Yampa Valley Electric acquired the site intending to develop its new headquarters on a portion of the 70-acre site, until it settled on the former site of The Industrial Company — TIC — closer to U.S. Highway 40.

Later, the Overlook site was being considered for a new Steamboat Springs school campus. However, the general public’s lack of enthusiasm for the site kept it in play for residential housing.

Zibell has a home just west of the Overlook site outside city limits in the Silver Spur subdivision. His development group includes his wife, Lois, other members of his family and Steamboat building contractor Jarle Halsnes. Local Realtor and engineer Steve Elkins is advising Zibell on the project.

Zibell acknowledges his good fortune in acquiring a development site with all of the entitlements in place. The original developer, Jay Weinberg of Carbondale, participated financially with the city of Steamboat in the construction of a wide but truncated boulevard, Gloria Gossard Parkway, that accesses the site.

Zibell said he plans to follow through on the need for a second access road and build a western connection from Overlook to U.S. 40 just across from the Sleepy Bear mobile home park.

He also said this week he would like to attract a small grocery to the largest designated retail/commercial site in the project, which is immediately west of the West Acres mobile home park.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1.


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