COLORADO SPRINGS — Leaders of the Gold Hill Mesa development say they expect to address every concern laid out by state geologists when it comes to the soil the community sits on west of downtown Colorado Springs. The developer is urging homeowners to come forward if they believe they have serious problems with their homes, including if they believe their home is sinking. In the meantime, work has started to test the soil beneath the community that has been the focus of recent scrutiny from state geologists.
More than a decade ago the first homes were built in the Gold Hill Mesa community as a part of an urban renewal project. The neighborhood sits on top of tailings from a former gold processing mill. It was capped to prevent contamination from minerals and chemicals. Because of this, the neighborhood and homes in it have been the subject of scrutiny for years. Most people raising questions about the stability of the soil.
"To your knowledge are any of the homes sinking in Gold Hill Mesa?" News5 Reporter Patrick Nelson asked.
"No. not to our knowledge. We know of nothing systemic, or above the norm of any settlement," said Executive VP of Gold Hill Mesa Stephanie Edwards. "We've certainly heard of a few issues regarding perimeter drains, but we are open and welcoming any questions, concerns and we would like awareness if that is indeed happening from anybody."
Edwards went on to talk about the oversight from the beginning connected to this development.
"As an urban renewal sight and with the unique history here of Gold Hill Mesa we've taken every effort to bring in top experts and geo-techs for over a decade now and of course this project is under layers of scrutiny and peer reviewed licensed experts at the state and local level and we are under continual review," said Edwards.
Hayden Fisher is leading a team who will be testing the soil of the community to make sure it meets the demands of state geologists.
"It's a combination of geo-technical and geo-physical testing we are going to absolutely be able to answer all of those questions and in my mind we are going above the standard of care to answer those questions," said Fisher, Chief Technical Officer for Bryant Consultants.
Fisher says experts will test the make-up and stability of the soil before future homes are built on the property. He's confident the project will move forward it's just a question of what measures need to be taken to make sure it is safe to build.
"No soil is perfect and no soil is so bad off that there isn't something that can be done to remediate it or work with it and get it in a situation where something can be built on that," said Fisher.
Gold Hill Mesa leaders tell me they expect the soil test results to be in by the end of November.
If you are a resident in the area and would like to communicate concerns about your home you can always contact us at News5Investigates@koaa.com
Also, if you need contact information for Gold Hill Mesa leaders here is some of that information:
Gold Hill Neighborhood, LLC
Info@goldhillmesa.com
Alicia Petz
719-900-1461
Community Home Owners Association Manager (HOA)
MSI, LLC
cpilato@msihoa.com
Corey Pilato
(719) 260-4548
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPE)
Fonda.apostolopoulos@state.co.us
(303) 692-3090
Fonda Apostolopoulos
City Engineering Inspections
cmorris@springs-gov.com
Cyndi Morris
(719) 385-5977
Metro District at Gold Hill Mesa
Josh.miller@claconnect.com
Josh Miller
(719) 635-0330
David Weekley Homes
(719) 453-0164
Hi-Point Home Builders
(719) 495-0009
JM Weston Townhomes
(719) 571-9737
Vanguard Homes
(719) 487-8957
