Who's Paying for the New Redlands? Redlands 360's Debt Just Reached the Tax Bill
October 15, 2026
October 15, 2026
Redlands 360 Metropolitan District No. 2's own budget estimates its 2025 property tax levy at 15 mills, all of it for operations. Its 2026 budget certifies 69.895 mills. Almost all of the increase is a new debt service levy of 55.068 mills. The budget shows no debt levy for 2024 or 2025.
Next door, District No. 1 certified 15.000 operating mills and 55.031 debt service mills for 2026, for a total of 70.031. Both levies have the same source. On December 9, 2025, District No. 2 sold bonds to pay for the public improvements in the community, and District No. 1 agreed to put its property tax revenue toward repaying them.
In an older Redlands subdivision, the roads and pipes were usually built and paid for long before the current owner arrived. In Redlands 360, a buyer takes on part of that cost through the tax bill. The home's price pays for the house and lot. The streets, trails, and open space outside are being repaid every year, for decades.
Redlands 360 is served by nine Title 32 metropolitan districts, numbered 1 through 9. A metropolitan district is a special taxing district under Colorado law. It can borrow money for public infrastructure and repay the debt with property taxes on homes inside its boundaries. The districts' own site explains the legal basis.
According to the districts, the services they can provide include streets, sanitary sewer, stormwater, landscaping, parks, and trails. Grand Junction City Council approved the consolidated service plan for Districts 1 through 9 on June 17, 2020, through Resolution No. 34-20. At that time the project was planned for 1,666 homes and 30,000 square feet of commercial space.
For 2026, only Districts 1 and 2 levy a tax. The 2026 budgets for Districts 3 through 9 show a total mill levy of zero. So any figures in this post apply to homes in Districts 1 and 2. Your exact district depends on the parcel.
District No. 2's 2026 budget lists three bond series, all issued on December 9, 2025.
| Bond series | Amount | Interest rate | Repaid from | Final maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 2025A, senior limited tax general obligation | $9,575,000 | 7.125% | Property taxes from Districts 1 and 2 | December 1, 2055 |
| Series 2025C, junior subordinate | $4,302,000 | 7.000% | Subordinate pledged revenue, "if any" | Not stated in the budget summary |
| Special Improvement District No. 1, special assessment revenue bonds | $7,385,000 | 6.25%, assumed | Special assessments on property in the SID | December 1, 2045 |
That adds up to $21,262,000. Some of the money went to paying the bonds themselves. The budget shows $2,046,656 of capitalized interest set aside from the general obligation bond proceeds, plus $1,384,688 of capitalized interest and a $738,500 reserve fund from the special assessment bonds.
The repayment schedule matters if you plan to own for a long time. On the Series 2025A bonds, interest payments begin June 1, 2026, and the required annual principal payments start December 1, 2031. Principal on the special assessment bonds starts December 1, 2030. A family buying in 2026 is paying in the early years of a 30-year bond.
Mills are hard to picture, so here is the arithmetic. Colorado's 2026 residential assessment rate for local government taxes is 6.8%. The rate for school district taxes is 7.05%. Metro districts fall on the local government side.
For each $100,000 of a home's actual value in District No. 2:
For a home valued at $600,000, that works out to about $2,850 a year in metro district tax. It comes on top of the county, city, school district, and other levies every Mesa County property pays. These are rounded examples to show the scale. The Mesa County Assessor sets the actual value and the assessed value on each parcel, and the county's assessor reports list the levies by tax area.
The districts' debt disclosure page lists $60,000,000 of authorized infrastructure debt and a maximum debt service levy of 50.000 mills, "subject to adjustment." The developer's January 2025 fact sheet on the metro districts says the same thing in more detail.
"Metro Districts also have the right and responsibility to levy an additional property tax assessment, up to 50 mills, to finance the construction of essential public infrastructure such as roads, sewer systems, water lines, storm drainage, and public amenities. This assessment will be implemented only when necessary to secure financing for these projects and will cease upon expiration of the financing term."
That passage comes from the Redlands 360 metro district fact sheet, which also says the debt levy is capped by the City agreement and the District Service Plan.
The 2026 debt levy actually certified is 55.068 mills in District No. 2 and 55.031 in District No. 1. The "subject to adjustment" wording means the 50-mill figure can move under the terms of the service plan, and the summary pages don't show the calculation. The district can explain how the adjustment applies. For anyone comparing a home here with one outside a district, the certified figure in the current budget is the number that appears on the tax bill.
The fact sheet also says Canyon Rim 360 and Easter Hill had a 15-mill operations levy that "is expected to remain consistent throughout the life of the neighborhoods." The 2026 budgets show 15.000 operating mills in District No. 1 and 14.827 in District No. 2.
District No. 2's assessed value shows why the debt levy is so large right now. For 2026, the district certified $2,254,360 of assessed value. Of that, $1,345,800 is vacant land and $879,950 is residential. The same budget estimates zero residential assessed value for 2025. At 69.895 mills, the district expects to collect $157,568 in property tax for 2026, and $124,143 of that goes to debt service.
The developer's fact sheet says growth will generate tax revenue for debt repayment as more homes are built and occupied. It describes this kind of debt as "typically amortized over 30-40 years." In other words, the plan counts on construction continuing. Easter Hill Filing One, a 51-lot first phase with Goetzmann Custom Homes and Aspen Leaf Innovations as builders, had fewer than 10 lots left as of the developer's August 2026 brochure. 4H Peaks is listed as coming soon. In April 2025, KKCO 11 News reported plans for 125 townhomes near South Broadway and South Camp Road, with construction expected to take at least two years.
The $7,385,000 special assessment bonds work differently from the mill levy. They are repaid from special assessments on property inside Special Improvement District No. 1, including prepayments and the proceeds of assessment lien sales. The district's November 21, 2025 agenda included a resolution to assess "each lot or tract" in the SID for its share of improvement costs, along with an agreement with CliftonLarsonAllen to collect the assessments.
The budget summary and agendas don't include per-lot amounts, the list of lots in the SID, the installment schedule, or what happens on resale. Those details are in the assessment resolution itself, which the district can provide. For a buyer, this is the most important question to answer before going under contract. A lot inside the SID may carry an assessment on top of the roughly 70 mills, and a lot outside it may not. Two similar homes on the same street could have different annual costs.
The developer presents the district as a replacement for part of a typical HOA's job. According to the fact sheet, district taxes pay for public parks, trails, and open space, which keeps HOA fees lower. The planned residents-only community center will be run with HOA fees. The developer also says its trail network is maintained and open to the public.
The same arrangement reaches beyond the neighborhood. The City of Grand Junction says the Broadway and 23 Road roundabout will cost about $5 million. Redlands 360 is building it and paying about 75% of the cost, and the City covers the other 25%. Completion was expected in December 2026. The City's October 9 traffic notice shows the work zone is still active this week. When you compare a Redlands 360 home with an older Redlands home, include the district levy and any SID assessment alongside the HOA dues. Comparing HOA dues alone leaves out a large part of the yearly cost.
Does the debt levy go away? The developer's fact sheet says it ends when the financing term expires. The Series 2025A bonds mature December 1, 2055, and the SID bonds mature December 1, 2045. Both can be redeemed early starting December 1, 2030.
Is every Redlands 360 home in a taxing district? For 2026, Districts 1 and 2 levy taxes and Districts 3 through 9 levy zero. Which district a home is in depends on its parcel.
Who runs the districts? The fact sheet says the metro district will eventually be run by a board of residents, with committees for landscaping and other services.
All of the above is drawn from public district, City, and state documents. It is deemed reliable, but verify the figures for any specific property independently. Nothing here is tax or legal advice.
If you are weighing a Redlands 360 home against an older Redlands property, I'm glad to pull the district budget, the parcel's tax history, and the HOA documents for both and lay them out side by side. Michelle Ritter can schedule a free consultation to go through the full yearly cost of each home before you write an offer.
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
A thoughtful, results-focused approach designed around each client’s unique goals. Every project is handled with clarity, attention to detail, and a collaborative process that ensures effective, well-aligned outcomes from start to finish.