Projects happening in the Gunnison Valley

by Katherine Nettles

The Gunnison Valley has always been rich in beauty and adventure, and over time it is becoming more dynamic and convenient with exciting new amenities to accommodate a growing community. Changes are coming throughout Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison to improve healthcare, travel, education and recreation, to name a few. This includes improvements, expansions and upgrades to the Gunnison Crested Butte Airport (GUC), Gunnison Valley Health hospital, fire districts, the school district and recreational programs.

Airport expansion

The Gunnison-Crested Butte Airport (GUC) got a major, $23 million facelift in the past two years to modernize and remodel most of the building. The project is almost complete and carrying more passengers than ever. Highlights include new passenger holding areas, security screening, baggage claim, escalators, parking lot and overall improved flow for travelers, as well as geothermal heating and cooling systems, new electrical systems and “back of the house” items that improve general operations. In addition, strong airline numbers have drawn in the attention of a boutique air carrier, JSX, which now offers regular service for the second year in a row between Dallas and Gunnison, with connections to Austin.

GVH services and a new medical arts campus

The Gunnison Valley Health hospital system has been focused on how to expand services since renewing its strategic plan in 2020, and it has made some big strides. With plans to break ground on a new medical arts campus this year, GVH has also increased its capacity and technology to conduct breast and colorectal screenings, cancer care, cardiology services, general surgery, and even dermatology. GVH also opened a pediatric practice in Crested Butte this year and has worked to improve collaboration among orthopedic surgeons and related specialists up and down valley.

The increasingly comprehensive emergency medical response system (EMS) includes Crested Butte EMS and Crested Butte Search and Rescue working with the Gunnison facilities and healthcare system for continuity of care.

GVH’s stated goal is to reduce the need for patients to leave the valley for the care they need, and to facilitate fast, efficient transfers to higher levels of care when necessary through strong relationships with regional trauma centers. Having expanded its behavioral health services as well, the GVH system also manages the Center for Mental Health which includes telehealth services.

Recreation and Met Rec more

allowed the North subdistrict to collect additional tax funds for North Valley recreational programs and infrastructure.

The Gunnison Valley is filled with people of all ages and abilities looking for more ways to recreate and enjoy a high quality of life—both indoors and out. Mt. Crested Butte is adding pickleball courts to its regular tennis courts this year, Crested Butte is renovating the Crank’s Tank skate park and adding public bathrooms at Belleview and Third Street and the CB Nordic Center next door is adding a major new addition called The Outpost, to accommodate more events, programming, and to create a gathering space for the community. Crested Butte South released a parks master plan this year and will begin with a new community garden and eventually create new ball fields, a potential covered ice rink and even a sheriff’s substation. Gunnison County is also working on a Crested Butte to Crested Butte South multimodal recreation trail that connects to the rec path between Mt. Crested Butte and the town of Crested Butte, creating a hard surface path for recreationalists on relatively flat grading. The planning phase is currently underway, and the trail could break ground in the next few years.

The Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (Met Rec) plays a hand in many of these recreation programs and infrastructure projects. It is currently developing a regional recreational master plan for the whole valley, which will determine what projects to focus on and where, so as to improve summer and winter recreation opportunities for everyone. This will also help focus its budget. Met Rec has two subdistricts - the North and South - and a new ballot initiative that passed in 2022 has

Potential items MetRec is considering based on recent community survey input include more playing fields (and possibly turf), an additional, covered ice rink in the North Valley and on a longer term scale, an indoor recreation facility in the North Valley. The master plan is scheduled for completion in early 2025.

School District Expansion And Improvements

The Gunnison Watershed School District passed a school bond in 2022 enabling it to take on a facilities improvement and expansion at the Crested Butte Community School (a K-12 campus) and improve safety, security, overcrowding and vocational programming at all schools across the district. CBCS has been bursting at the seams in recent years, with modular units added on as makeshift classrooms and even closets and hallways being used for teaching spaces. The project is estimated at $95 million and will include other, less significant infrastructure improvements across the district.

There are many more things happening, from the Crested Butte Fire Protection District planning to build a new fire station and search and rescue facility, to a new bus storage barn for the Gunnison Valley Rural Transit Authority (RTA) in Riverland to support its record breaking ridership and increasing bus service, to a new hydro power dam at Taylor Park and large workforce housing projects happening at both ends of the valley, and at points in between. There’s even a Natural Grocers moving into the city of Gunnison this fall, just as Clark’s Market in Crested Butte closes temporarily for its own expansion and renovation.

It’s an exciting time of growth and expansion for the Gunnison Valley, and yet, as hard as many are working to make needed improvements for the future, work is also being done to preserve the same sense of close-knit community, open space and mountain town charm that has made it so enjoyable to so many.