$10 Million Teller Service Center Slated for Possible Completion in 2026
Trevor Phipps
Teller County officials recently celebrated the opening of a new park in what many locals refer to as the “Center of the Known Universe.” At the same time, they gave an update on their new $10 million service center that will become the hub of their government operations.
Both projects have commanded much attention in the last few months.
Located at the Hayden Divide Community Park in Divide, the new playground replaces the decades-old facility that had officials scrambling to find parts for. That won’t be the case any longer with its new modern park facility.
On October 15, county leaders and local landowners gathered for the new playground’s grand opening, situated at the site of one of the park’s former baseball fields. The new playground is bigger than the old one and features more updates.
After the playground was officially opened, one lucky child, who was seen playing on the old playground, was invited to try out the brand-new equipment. The child, introduced as “Liam,” waited for the crowd of county officials to count down from 10 before sprinting into the new play area, and trying out all new play equipment.
Once county officials opened the new playground, they then prepared for demolition on the old playground site, the very next day. In a rather odd timing arrangement, the old playground was removed not only due to its age, but because it was located at the exact site where the new Teller County Service Center is planned to be built.
As a result of the demo action, crews can now continue progress on the new service facility, which will enable the county to merge all of its offices into one building.
According to Teller County Commission Chairman Dan Williams, the new playground had to be built before they were allowed to remove the old facility. Williams said that once the original paperwork was discovered, they realized that the original playground was supposed to remain at this site forever. This presented county leaders with a major historic and legal challenge.
“The letter said the old playground was here for perpetuity and you can’t tear it down,” Williams said. “The reason they do that is because the original playground was built with a grant. So, we went to Denver and met with the CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) Director and asked, ‘what if we built a new one before we tear it down?’ And we had that letter (of approval) within two hours. So, we did everything right and we followed all the regulations.”
In order to keep progress moving on the county’s service center, the new construction of the playground had to occur quickly. According to county commissioner Erik Stone, once the commissioners signaled the green light for the playground, the construction process only took around four months.
“It has been months not years,” Stone said. “From the moment we said ‘go’ they really went. They went fast. We are super excited because this opens today, that comes down tomorrow, and then we move onto the next step which is the central service center up on the hill.”
More Park Upgrades Coming Soon
Over the last several years, county commissioners have been putting money aside annually towards a new county center to consolidate services. The impetus behind this plan is to stop renting buildings in Divide and Woodland Park, and to build their own facility, in a building that will become the new central home for virtually all county services.
Divide was chosen as the place for the new building due to the fact that it is centrally located inside the county. And the land where the park sits represented the area’s main growth area. After a land swap, the county decided to resituate the park and put the 15,000 square-foot, $10 million county service center at the site of the former park.
However, in order to make room for the new facility, some of the park’s features had to go. To make room for the new playground, one of the park’s baseball fields had to be replaced.
But officials have said that the park will get new features to make up for what will be taken away. “Phase 1 Improvements include a new playground, ADA accessible sidewalks and ramps and a new parking area,” County Administrator Ross Herzog said. “Future phases will include the addition of a restroom shelter, pavilion and a multi-use court which will be completed over the next 12 months.”
The new parking lot down the hill will now be where park users and ride share operators can park. The upper parking lot will be closed indefinitely to make way for the construction of the new service center.
The new central service center will be designed to be a “one-stop shop” for county services. It will house the departments of Human Services, Public Health & Environment, DMV, Community Development, and Veterans Services, and potential satellite offices for other services.
Since 1997, the county has paid rent to house these departments at various locations around Teller County, mostly in Woodland Park. The county is projected to save nearly $10 million in rent over the next decade, along with tens of millions more in the coming decades.
The new service center is supposed to be completed by late 2026 or early 2027.
