Developer looking to build Roxborough “Nordic spa” faces first county vote

A Canadian firm that wants to build a “Nordic spa” near Roxborough State Park goes before Douglas County leaders for the first time Tuesday evening.

The county commission is set to vote on whether to approve a metro district for a 35-acre site largely surrounded by Arrowhead Golf Course. The land, which features jagged red rock formations, is owned by Calgary-based Pomeroy Lodging.

Metro districts are quasi-governmental bodies that have a number of legal powers and financial tools that aid in development of a property. The land in Douglas County’s Roxborough Park has no roads, water or sewer service there, but is surrounded by, in addition to the golf course, over 1,000 homes accessed by private HOA roads.

Neighbors fear the metro district could be used as a power grab by the developer, because it allows for eminent domain. Many also oppose any construction on land they see as worthy of preservation.

“Tonight they only want to talk about the metro district. But it really opens the door to completely change our community,” resident Kenneth Fountain said at a public meeting last month.

But Chris Puchalla, Pomeroy’s senior vice president of real estate, told BusinessDen the metro district is “the most efficient approach to development in terms of financing infrastructure,” and will help it raise the roughly $4 million the company needs to start work.

Pomeroy will front the development cost, which is then repaid overtime by the future users of the site in a tax or fee.

“For that, you can see why large and small developers have done that all over Colorado,” he said.

“Our application with the metro district is not an effort to obtain eminent domain in order to get access.”

Pomeroy bought the land in February for $3.5 million. In documents submitted to the county, the company has said its proposed spa would likely consist “of a collection of pools, saunas, steam rooms and indoor and outdoor relaxation spaces, also offering massage treatments and ancillary food & beverage and retail offerings.” Unlike hot springs, it would not use naturally heated water.

The development would be about 30,500 square feet and have an average daytime population of 115 customers, according to the documents. Pomeroy operates two other Nordic spas in Alaska and Alberta, along with a chain of hotels across Canada.

Pomeroy’s land is currently zoned for residential use, so its spa plans would be contingent through rezoning, a separate county process.

If the spa isn’t possible, Pomeroy will instead build 31 homes on the red rocks, according to the company’s metro district application.

If the district passes and commercial use is later approved, spa users would pay a fee each visit related to the metro district, while residents would pay a tax for the same purpose under a residential plan.

Arrowhead, a private course owned by Dallas-based Arcis Golf, has opposed the proposed spa. An Arcis executive didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding whether the company would support residential development.

Arrowhead and The Roxborough Park Foundation, which functions as the HOA for the surrounding residential community, are currently in a court battle with Pomeroy over access to the site. Neighbors see this metro district application as Pomeroy trying to find a workaround that would allow it access to the property.

“Eminent domain is what is key to this,” nearby resident Fran Santagata said in a public meeting last month. “What I’m seeing is that they need to have this egress through the Arrowhead Golf Course and the only way to do that is eminent domain.”