Town selects affordable housing developer

Bywater LLC comes in a bit more affordable

By Mark Reaman

Bywater, LLC was selected by the Crested Butte Town Council on Monday to be the official developer of the Paradise Park subdivision build-out that will consist of affordable housing units.

Bywater bested Coburn Partners for the project that will result in 26 new deed-restricted homes on the property located in the northeast side of town near Rainbow Park.

The town went through an extensive public process and ended up negotiating with the two finalists, Bywater and Coburn. Town community development director Michael Yerman said both finalists for the project were very responsive to suggestions while maintaining high-quality designs. While the Coburn team came in with 28 homes and Bywater with 26, the Bywater units were larger and the price point lower on average.

The Bywater group will build five one-bedroom homes that sell for an average of $216,819; 15 two-bedroom units with an average cost of $274,712; and six three-bedroom homes with an average cost of $331,869. All will have deed restrictions.

“All the groups that submitted proposals were great,” Yerman said. “And the final two were creative and responsive. The Coburn group was super good to work with and so the committee found making a recommendation hard. At the end of the day it came down to price point and affordability.”

Yerman said the timeline to break ground is an aggressive one with a full slate of BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) reviews set for the entire winter. A contract is expected to be executed between the town and developer in December and ground should be broken by June 1 of next year. The developer will receive the land at a minimal price from town as part of the $7 million project in order to obtain construction financing but will be obligated to sell deed-restricted units while making a profit. The units will be completely ready for occupancy between 2019 and 2021.

“It is definitely a quick turn-around,” Yerman told the council.

Mayor Jim Schmidt said having the cooperation of the land’s original developers, Bill Lacy and Daniel Dow, made the project feasible and the town was appreciative of the collaboration.

“This is actually really exciting to get under way,” Schmidt noted.

Bywater and the town will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding immediately so that the development approvals can begin with BOZAR.