YOUR AD HERE »

New mini-storage facility coming to West Glenwood by Ami’s Acres

La construcción continúa en el espacio abierto justo al oeste de Ami's Acres Campground en el oeste de Glenwood Springs.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent

Garfield County commissioners on Monday agreed to a land use permit for a mini-storage development to be built to the west of the Ami’s Acres Campground west of Glenwood Springs.

“This is quite a project,” Garfield County Commissioner Mike Samson said. “It’s an unusual, unique piece of property and trying to find a use for that (site) that’s in the best interest for Garfield County has been interesting to see.”

The site is visible from Interstate 70 on the east end of South Canyon, and has been undergoing extensive dirt work for the past several months.



The project calls for a mini-storage facility consisting of single-story units totaling approximately 118,400 square feet with construction occurring in four phases, according to the project information before the commissioners. 

“They have a good, valid use of this property, and I’m afraid if you deny this, it’ll just sit there as a death pile and be like Cattle Creek No. 2, and I’ll be the one that takes on the weeds in the dust for the next 50 years,” said Craig Amichaux, the owner of Ami’s Acres. He was referring to a piece of land along Colorado Highway 82 that was graded and prepped for development several years ago, but has since sat vacant.



The new storage facility will also provide screened outdoor storage, according to the proposal before the commissioners. 

“A lot of that open space since they’ve come in has been covered in thistle,” Amichaux said. “Three years ago when he started bringing in imported soil we had a blow-up of thistle on our property, and we don’t have the staff to maintain 40 acres of undeveloped property, so we just do the best we can on the hill.”

The commissioners and developers all agreed that the area had too much sediment flow to be a safe place for a large scale housing project.

With heavy sediment flows in the area, developer Mark Gould and Gould Construction have built sediment basins in the area that they said is set up in a way that is easy to clear out and has enough flow that it will not bring large build-up. 

The soil being moved was the first stage of the project and with the approval, construction on the facility can begin. 

The space will also provide two workforce housing units that will be made available outside the project, since the employees who are to run the facility already have housing, developers said. There will not be a full-time staff working the facility and no public restrooms, but there will be security cameras for after hours. 

The building will be far enough away to let Ami’s Acres keep their “rural setting,” set at 160 feet distance. Amichaux did request that the facility be located slightly farther than originally planned because of the height of the soil brought in.

“Our property was anywhere from 100 feet to 50 feet above his property, and now he’s brought in so much fill, that the lower portion of our property, he’s actually taller than us right now without building on it,” Amichaux said.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.