The second try at winning development permits worked in 2002 for the Glenwood Meadows commercial, residential and open space project on the 345-acre Wulfsohn Ranch.

The first version of project, proposed in 2000, called for 772 residential units and 1.2 million square feet of commercial and office space. Developer Robert Macgregor withdrew the plan when it appeared that the Glenwood Springs City Council would deny the application.

But in 2001, council members urged Macgregor to reapply. Taking the advice of opponents, Macgregor cut the project’s commercial density by more than half, to 490,000 square feet, and dropped the residential units to 475.

The plan included a cap of 120,000 square feet on any single retailer.

In earlier review, the Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission attached 51 conditions to its recommendation for approval. Macgregor accepted most, but objected to a condition that the project buy a new bus for the city’s Ride Glenwood Springs system.

On Feb. 7, after holding another public hearing a week earlier, City Council approved the Meadows plan in a 6-1 vote.

“Overall, what we’ve got is a good project,” said Councilman Rick Davis.

Council members favored the project because it is designed with a pedestrian orientation, offers a good mix of residential and retail uses and would give the city as much as $1 million a year in new sales tax revenues.

At full build-out, which is many years out, Meadows would increase the city’s commercial space by 16 percent and its residential stock by 13 percent.

The plan included 215 acres of open space and a pledge of $3.25 million to pay for traffic improvements.

At the time of approval, Macgregor said construction could begin in spring 2003.

On June 8, 2002, the Coal Seam Fire swept across the property, burning the meadows, the beautiful stands of oakbrush and the Douglas fir trees growing high on the face of Red Mountain.

Macgregor said he wasn’t sure how the fire would affect his plans. By late summer, green shoots were emerging under the charred oak trunks, proving that the fast-moving wildfire did not kill the roots.