Tava House Development Saves Space for Mega Retail Center
Travis Philps
After announcing the grand opening of a taproom and chophouse next month, more good news has followed for the Tava House development on the former Woodland Station property.
From the beginning, the Tava House developers had planned on selling other lots on the eight-acre property located in downtown Woodland Park to prospective businesses wishing to expand into the city.
Last week, Tava House CEO Dereck Wagoner announced that the nationwide chain Buccee’s Gas Station and Convenience Store would be added to a portion of the lot along with other businesses. The development moved into full motion after a similar development was recently denied in Palmer Lake north of Colorado Springs.
“When we first started construction on Tava House, everyone started talking about how we were changing the city,” Wagoner said. “Then some people on social media gave me the idea to save the corner lot just north of the hardware store and then contact the owners over at Buccee’s.”
Construction on the massive convenience store, which features everything from gas to brisket and beef jerky, is slated to begin at the end of this month. The giant gas station then plans to be open by next summer.
During his press conference, Wagoner also mentioned the addition of a new member of the team that will be heading the Buccee’s portion of the Tava House development.
Current Woodland Park Mayor Kelly Case has played an integral role in the Tava House development from the beginning and now that she is term-limited and leaving office next month, she has chosen to change careers.
Departing Mayor’s Involvement in Pivotal Development
Case will now be in charge of the Buccee’s development process, and she will also head other businesses planned for the lot. The other businesses, though, will be owned directly by Case, and they will be developed in a way that brings a little of the city’s history back to the development.
“Once people started to see that we were building something so new and nice, we started to get some backlash from a certain group of locals,” Wagoner said. “We were going to save that corner lot for a huge parking garage, but then we decided to add Buccee’s.
But in order to preserve some of the city’s history and appease the naysayers, along with Buccee’s, we plan on adding a casino, marijuana dispensary, brothel and a 1920s-style speakeasy as soon as we can get the laws changed so they are all allowed.”
Plans in Line for Legalization of Adult-Related Businesses in Woodland Park
Wagoner admitted that the local ordinances in Woodland Park do put a temporary hamper on his plans. But he said that the current mayor has agreed to use her strong political influence to get the laws changed soon.
And since she has already tricked the council into approving the Buccee’s development, the Tava CEO is confident she will make the other law changes happen as well.
Case did speak at the press conference, but she made it clear that she was not speaking as a city official. “My job serving the city government is soon over, but today I am talking as my new position in serving the residents in another fashion,” Case said. “As soon as I step down from my throne as the city’s mayor, I plan to officially change my name to Madam Kelly. I figured that would be a more appropriate moniker as my business serves as a one-stop shop for sex, weed, gambling and pretty much everything else.”
Even though only a portion of the development has been approved thus far, Wagoner said that some of the infrastructure for the brothel and speakeasy portion has already been put in place.
“Everyone has been asking me why the road construction portion has taken so long,” Wagoner said. “Well, the crews have been spending their time digging secret tunnels underneath the property so that people can discreetly enter Case’s businesses just like they did in the old days. We figured that secret tunnels would also help bring some of Woodland Park’s history back to the present and future.”
Happy April Fool’s Day!
