Durango schools under contract to buy 35-unit Lightner Creek Apartments for staff housing

Durango School District officials said the district is under contract to buy Lightner Creek Apartments, a 35‑unit multifamily complex in Durango, in a transaction the district expects to close in the coming months.

The purchase price is $10,000,000, about half of the $20,000,000 the district set aside from the 2024 bond for workforce housing. Chief Operating Officer Chris Coleman told the school board the property is inside city limits, less than four miles from downtown, and includes a mix of studios, one‑bedroom and two‑bedroom units the district believes will be useful to recruit and retain teachers and other staff.

The board was presented with the district’s three‑phase housing approach: A) buy existing units, B) partner with developers, and C) develop on district land. Coleman said the Lightner Creek purchase advances Plan A and allows the district to move quickly on housing needs while other options are evaluated.

“We set out with the passage of the 2024 bond, allocating funding to tackle workforce housing,” Coleman said. “This property presented itself and it makes a lot of sense from a timeline standpoint. It gives a strong value in buying a large number of units at once.”

Why this property: Coleman said the 35 units trade for roughly $290,000 per…