The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
30 units to be rented this summer
by Mark Reaman
Applications for the Anthracite Place affordable housing rental project in Crested Butte can be picked up and will be accepted beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, January 15. Applications can be obtained at the Crested Butte Town Hall or the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority at 200 E. Georgia Avenue in Gunnison. They can also be downloaded from the GVRHA website at gvrha.org.
There is no lottery for the units—it is first-come, first-served for those who meet the qualifications. The Housing Authority will compile a list of qualified applicants starting with the initial returns. There is a $30 application fee.
After a pre-screening to determine if an applicant is qualified, if a household is near the top of the preliminary waiting list (the top 50 applicants), the household will be asked to provide the Housing Authority with additional paperwork.
Once a household completes the final step of the application process and is fully screened, it will be placed on the interim waiting list and will be notified of a scheduled orientation meeting. The Housing Authority anticipates that orientation meetings will be scheduled in June 2016; however, that could change depending on when the building will be completed.
The initial application is six pages long and focuses on employment history, personal assets, and student status. There are no restrictions on how long applicants have lived in the county, but they must show that they can afford to live there and that the unit is or will be their only residence.
“The idea is to provide an affordable place for local workers to rent in the town of Crested Butte,” said GVRHA executive director Karl Fulmer. “Through a public-private partnership and with the help of low-income housing tax credits, Anthracite Place fills an obvious need in Crested Butte and the valley.”
Anthracite Place is a 30-unit complex with six two-bedroom apartments and 24 one-bedroom apartments. They range in size from 550 square feet to 785 square feet.
Anthracite Place has most apartments earmarked for employees who make below 50 percent of area median income (AMI)—an income standard assigned to Gunnison County by the U.S. government.
Some units are earmarked for employees who make under 60 percent of AMI. AMI for one person is $50,200, while for a four-person household, AMI is $71,700.
For example, a one-person household would qualify for the under 50 percent AMI by making less than $25,100 a year. A four-person household would qualify under the 60 percent threshold by making less than $43,000.
Rents will range from $650 a month for a one-bedroom for a household at the 50 percent threshold to $920 a month for a two-bedroom for a household under the 60 percent mark. Heat, hot water and trash service are included in these rents.
There are no pets allowed in Anthracite Place. First and last month rent along with a security deposit are required as an initial deposit. Parking is limited and no more than two vehicles will be allowed per unit. It is anticipated that the new tenants can move into the complex by the middle of summer, when the building is expected to be completed.
“We are excited to be at this stage of the process and look forward to providing dozens of our workers with a quality place to live in Crested Butte,” Fulmer said. “Having toured the building several times, [I think] the units are wonderful. Anthracite is a great addition to the workforce housing stock in our valley.”
