"With the kind of growth we're seeing in Pear Park, we don't expect that it will be very much longer before we start seeing some interest in commercial development," says Lisa Cox, assistant to the Grand Junction City Manager.

A recent plan proposed by the Mesa State Real Estate Foundation calls for annexation of a 150-acre parcel of land at D and 29 Road owned by the college, and then an amendment to the growth plan to change the zoning of the land. Currently, Western Colorado Community College's electric lineworker school holds classes and practices skills on the power poles planted at the site.

A continuation of 29 Road to the I-70 Business Loop is in the development stage. The plan includes a bridge over the railroad tracks, providing another access point to Pear Park. The city and the county are working together to plan and share costs for the project and anticipate that construction will start in late 2008 and be complete in 2010.

Subdivisions and housing units continue to be in huge demand in Pear Park. River Trail, a subdivision of 80 single family homes near D and 31 1/2 Road, is currently in the planning process with the city. A townhome development west of 30 Road on the north side of D Road is under construction, with all units already sold. A second phase of construction on the south side of D Road is still in the planning process, but reservations for most of the 47 units have already been made.

Hill and Homes Realty is in the final selling phases at both Autumn Glen, where there is one remaining duplex and one single-family home available, and at Westland Estates, where one home is ready to move in and two more will be completed in the near future. "We try to hit the market where the majority of people are," says Steve Voytilla, broker associate with Hill and Homes Realty.

Hill and Homes will also be selling The Adobes, a 120-home development to be built by Davidson Construction next year near D 1/2 and 30 Road. Prices aren't firm, but Voytilla anticipates they will be in the mid-200s. West Branch, near Westland Estates, will also be offered through Hill and Homes and will feature 48 homes in the mid-to-upper 200s.

"That southeast area is amazing, ever since they put the underpass in at 30, it just opened up that whole area," says Voytilla. "It's a very nice place to live."

Growth usually spells trouble for the neighborhood schools, but when Pear Park Elementary opened this fall, it opened with room for growth. Student population is around 400 this year, but the school's capacity is for 550 students.

"We currently have three rounds at each grade level," says Cheri Taylor, the principal at Pear Park. "We have the capacity to go four rounds at each level. We absolutely anticipate filling."

Unlike most area elementary schools that function with smaller gyms, the Pear Park school has an extra-large gym that will be able to handle the student population when it hits that 550 number. The city's Parks and Recreation Department partnered with the school district in the construction costs for the gym. When school's not in session, the parks department uses the gym for both youth and adult programs. Since opening last fall, the gym has been used for a youth basketball program, an adult wiffle ball league and volleyball.

This summer, the popular STARS program will be offered at Pear Park. STARS is a licensed childcare program that will offer field trips, games, sports, and arts on Tuesdays, Thursdays and every other Friday at Pear Park. In addition, the parks and recreation department will offer a summer youth theatre program in July at the gym.

Corn Lake also offers Pear Park residents a great place for outdoor recreation, with fishing, river access for those who'd like to float downstream and a paved trail along the river from 32 Road to 29 Road. A wildlife conservation area is a mile west of Corn Lake and connected by the trail.

Whether you call it Pear Park or the southeast, the area south of the I-70 Business Loop and west of 32 Road is rapidly changing. The new construction is some of the most affordable in the area, and a better road system is making the area even more attractive. No wonder the city expects 20,000 people to eventually call Pear Park home.