March 22, 2023 |
Photo – Start of Housing Development – Bigfoot99 file photo
Communities on both sides of Interstate in Carbon County are working to attract more visitors and permanent residents. Plans are in play, in both Rawlins and Saratoga, to address the need for more housing and hotels.
During March 7th‘s Rawlins city council meeting, Carbon County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Yvonne Johnson said a hotel company wants to build a new facility in the city.
Johnson said she is meeting with Cobblestone Hotels, a chain specializing in rural lodging, to open businesses in the area. She said Rawlins, Saratoga, and Hanna all need more rooms for rent.
Johnson said Saratoga’s hotel is already in the planning stages. Triple D Construction is designing and building the facility. Owner Bryan Drake said the 21-room hotel will be built on the same lot as his new office; the corner of Bridge Avenue and Southeast River Street.
Drake said the hotel has been in the works for around seven months. Construction is slated to begin in the fall or early next year, depending on the weather.
The hotel isn’t the only addition Drake has planned for Saratoga. He said construction of a new automatic car wash and a wild game processing plant are being considered.
Drake said a need for lower cost homes exists in Saratoga. Drake said he is ready to turn his entry level housing idea into reality the moment the state gives him the go ahead.
Drake said he receives positive feedback whenever he brings his entry-level housing idea to the planning commission. He said Saratoga will need homes that workers can afford, if people want the town to keep growing.
Drake said the town has plenty of lots with derelict houses on them which could be replaced with low-cost housing. Before that could happen, the town council would need to direct the planning commission to create an ordinance allowing the town to label a plot as abandoned. After legally annexing the land, the town could tear down the neglected structures allowing Drake to put new homes in their place. Drake said he feels like people support his plan until it comes time to act.
Drake’s idea for entry-level housing is in the hands of the planning commission.
Rawlins is on track to have a hotel complex built in the coming years. Hanna is also in talks about constructing a hotel. Triple D Construction should break ground on Saratoga’s new lodging in the coming months. Drake said the hotel is only the beginning of what he would like to build in town but did not offer any details.
