Uptown 240 owner promises progress on Dillon development

The Uptown 240 development in Dillon is once again showing signs of life, but there’s still no concrete timeline for when the luxury condominium complex will be completed.

Developers broke ground on the site in June 2019 as part of an Ottoborgo family project that included the demolition of the family’s restaurant, Adriano’s Bistro & Deli, and the erection of the new condominiums in its place. The initial construction timeline had the complex opening its doors to residents earlier this summer, but a loss of financing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic shut down work in April 2020.

There have since been rumblings that an agreement with a new financial backer was close and that construction could start back up. Danilo Ottoborgo, who owns the complex with his family and serves as the Uptown 240 president, previously voiced plans to resume work in November 2020 and then February of this year, but both dates came and went without any further progress being made.

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Now, Ottoborgo says he’s again nearing an agreement with a new lender in hopes of kicking the development back into gear.

“We have gotten a stated closing date now with our lender,” Ottoborgo said. “… That’s kind of the anchor for us to start all of the scheduling and the changes and transitions from there for the public improvement components and all the other elements of the project.”

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Ottoborgo provided the update to the Dillon Town Council during a regular work session meeting Sept. 7 at Town Hall. He didn’t provide the stated closing date with the new lender, but he said in an interview with the Summit Daily News on Monday, Sept. 13, that he expects the agreement to move forward toward the end of November.

Ottoborgo was also hesitant to give any sort of timeline on when he expects construction to resume, but if all goes according to plan with the new lender, he voiced optimism that contractor Symmetry Builders would be able to work throughout the winter.

“Symmetry is very well equipped and adapted to cold climate conditions,” Ottoborgo said. “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.”

Among other updates provided during the work session, Ottoborgo said a pair of independent consulting reports showed what’s already been built remains in good condition, which means there should be minimal backtracking once construction does resume.

Before that can happen, the town would have to approve an amended development agreement, which currently lists a Sept. 30 deadline to complete a number of public improvements around the property.

With few other options, Dillon officials are expected to extend that agreement. But Town Council members expressed frustration with the development’s slow progress, the state of the construction site and the perceived lack of communication with the town.

“We’ve been hearing this a lot from you, that you need this to close the financing,” Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said to Ottoborgo at the work session. “I think we’ve been, I won’t say bending over backward, but we’ve been doing everything we can to get this going for you. And then we get radio silence, and we don’t hear anything, and we don’t have any updates. Then whatever we think you’re working toward has somehow fallen through, and we don’t hear anything about it. I’m getting tired of it. … I am losing faith that this project is going to be completed by you guys.”

When asked if he’d considered selling the development, Ottoborgo said his team has considered all financing options, including bringing in larger-scale partners, but he said complexities valuing the land halted any progress in those conversations.

As the town awaits the presumptive return of construction crews, officials also asked Ottoborgo to tidy the site so it’s not such an eyesore for residents and visitors. There was also some discussion about adding language to the updated development agreement that would require the developers to remove the crane if it’s not in use within the next few months.

“We do understand that we need to sign this development extension for you to get financing,” council member Brad Bailey said. “… (Do) whatever you can do to help us just so we can go to our constituents and say, ‘Hey, look what they’re doing. It’s cleaning up.’ … We’re under some pressure to get that site cleaned up and get it moved on with limited options, other than just letting you know that we’re frustrated.”

Ottoborgo said Monday that he’s begun coordinating with his team to clean up the site and said he plans to update the fencing around the plot with something more visually appealing.

Once completed, Uptown 240 will feature 80 condominiums in addition to ground-floor restaurant and retail space, resident gathering spaces and other amenities. Ottoborgo said more than 60% of the units are already under contract.

Ottoborgo thanked the town for its patience and willingness to work through the process with him and his team, and he promised that the efforts wouldn’t be in vain.

“This has been, obviously, unexpected at every turn and has gone much longer than any of us had anticipated,” Ottoborgo said. “… We’re going to get there. We’re going to finish.”