Council ready to choose Sixth and Butte developer

Project focused on both rental and for-sale units

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

The Crested Butte town council is hoping to select a developer for the Sixth and Butte affordable housing project at the Monday, May 2 town council meeting. If a decision cannot be reached at that meeting, the council has agreed to call a special session a bit later in May in order to keep the process moving quickly.

A three-hour work session on April 13 allowed each of the six potential developers to present their ideas in front of the council and staff. Each proposal included at least some LIHTEC (Low Income Housing Tax Credits) units that bring with them extensive tax credits to help make the project more affordable. LIHTEC projects also come with more stringent rules and lower Area Median Income (AMI) limits that cater to the lowest earning workers. Anthracite Place is a 30-unit LIHTEC project that is currently full. Council has expressed a desire to have a project without the LIHTEC restrictions as much as possible but is aware that would cost significant town money.

At the April 13 work session council appeared pleased with the proposals but wanted more information on a variety of topics. The overall goal remained to have an affordable, livable project that was vibrant and available to a number of economic levels. 

The town staff will come to council at its next meeting with its top choices. The preliminary recommendation outlined in the council packet staff report is for two developers to be awarded contracts. The first would go to Crested Butte’s High Mountain Concepts to construct 32 for-sale units to be built throughout Paradise Park and in the new Slate River subdivision. HMC proposed to build one-, two- and three-bedroom homes that would be sold to local workers making between 100% and 180% of Area Median Income (AMI) or $70,800 and $127,440 for a two-person household.

A second developer, TWG Development of Indianapolis, Indiana that has done several projects in Colorado, would be responsible for approximately 48 rental units in the Slate River subdivision if council goes with the recommendation of the staff and selection advisory committee. TWG proposed a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental units for households making between 30% and 60% AMI or between $21,250 and $42,480 annually for a two-person household.

During the April work session some council members mentioned the idea of trying to see if the town’s minimum parking requirements could be reduced in order to possibly squeeze additional units in by increasing density. Several council representatives referenced the project as a long-term legacy project and the need to do it right and thoughtfully instead of rushing to get something built. They also mentioned the inflation factor and the need to not postpone the decision given the rapidly rising costs of materials and labor along with the obvious housing crunch.

The idea of the Sixth and Butte project is that approximately 60 units could be constructed on the site across from the Gas Café. A separate part of the request for proposals was to build 15-17 units on the still available lots in the Paradise Park subdivision on the east side of town. 

Council has set aside 30 minutes to discuss the staff recommendation at the May 2 meeting with the expectation that a thorough presentation will be available beforehand along with access to staff to answer individual questions. The staff made it clear in its memo to the council that the chosen developers and town would work out specific details of the project, including actual unit numbers and financing, after a developer is officially selected by council.