A state agency is considering whether to trade away more than 13,000 acres of public land for a building across the street from its Denver office – and cash.
But the Colorado State Land Board and the building owner disagree about the amount of cash. And agency director Britt Weygandt said Monday that the proposed land-for-building swap might not be a good idea anyway.
Even if money differences are resolved, “I’m not sure I could recommend it” to the board commissioners, she said.
In December, the board issued a little-noticed proposal for an unusual land exchange:
The state would give nearly 21 square miles of southwestern Park County to Oldrich Sipal, the rancher now leasing that land from the board. In return, it would get cash plus one-sixth acre and the two-story stucco building Sipal owns at 1275 Sherman St., directly south of the land board’s headquarters.
The land board, which owns other properties in the same block, saw an opportunity for a showcase commercial and residential development two blocks south of the state Capitol.
Sipal, an 82-year-old rancher who immigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1949, saw a chance to double the Park County lands he could leave to his grandchildren.
But a state appraisal valued the Park County land at almost $4.5 million more than the Denver property – or about $2 million more than Sipal thinks he should pay.
“It was absolutely unfair to us,” he said, noting that he just acquired land nearby at much less per acre in a separate exchange with the federal Bureau of Land Management.
Leaders of several environmental and land conservation groups said they were unaware of the state’s proposed swap, one of the largest considered by the land board.
“Oh my goodness,” said Steve Smith, assistant director of the regional Wilderness Society office. “I haven’t heard any talk about it.”
Doug Robotham, Colorado director of the Trust for Public Land, said he hoped the state would encourage conservation measures with any large-scale sale of its lands.
In Colorado, “many private properties play important roles in sustaining wildlife, water quality” and scenic views, he said.
The land board owns nearly 3 million acres of Colorado, second only to the federal government. It leases, trades and sometimes sells its land, mainly to provide money for public schools.
The southwestern Park County tracts it could trade for a Denver building stretch across rolling grasslands with spectacular mountain views.
One section is along U.S. 24 just southeast of Antero Reservoir, a trout-fishing lake and minor contributor to Denver’s water supply. Another separates the San Isabel and Pike national forests.
The Buffalo Peaks Wilderness rises west of the reservoir. Beyond, the majestic summits of Colorado’s highest mountains frame the horizon.
Sipal already owns 15,097 acres in Park County. On 13,314 acres of state lands he hopes to gain, he would continue “cattle grazing, nothing else,” he said, and leave them as ranchlands for his descendants.
“I have 12 grandkids,” he said. “I love the land.”
He objects to the state’s appraised price of $400 an acre – $128 per acre more than he paid last fall in the BLM land deal.
“I make an offer to the state, same price, $272,” he said.
In that exchange, Sipal gained 4,059 acres and gave the BLM 1,428 acres.
Despite their different sizes, the properties were appraised at nearly equal values, so the BLM paid about $700 an acre for the land it acquired.
The government paid a higher price for its land in that case because it “gained a significant wildlife area,” BLM spokeswoman Theresa Sauer said.
Land prices are low in this corner of Park County because the land is dry – bare dirt hills jut from its grasslands – and the human population mainly consists of scattered ranch cabins.
But north of Antero Reservoir, near the tiny town of Hartsel, a development company plans to change that. It has applied to build 152 homes in a gated community encompassing 10 square miles of rural ground.
The developers foresee a new residential market less than an hour south of the Breckenridge ski area, where homeowners could reach the slopes without battling weekend traffic on Interstate 70.
Their proposed community, The Preserve at Hartsel Springs Ranch, would range from cabins with half-acre yards to a “homestead” on 118 acres. The development would provide “numerous recreation opportunities, such as horeseback riding, fishing and hiking,” according to their county planning application.
The development partners own 28,000 acres in Park County, including some tracts adjacent to those Sipal would acquire in the proposed exchange.
Staff writer David Olinger can be reached at 303-820-1498 or at dolinger@denverpost.com.
