Analysis of local housing situation underway in the valley

GVRHA updating the Housing Needs Assessment…take the survey

By Mark Reaman 

The effort to collect new data and update the housing needs in the Gunnison Valley has started. It is the third assessment of the housing situation in the region since 2016 and is being organized by the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA). It is being funded by Gunnison County, the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, the Valley Housing Fund, the GVRHA and the city of Gunnison.

The GVRHA started the process of the new Housing Needs Assessment earlier this year and according to new executive director Melissa LaMonica, it is meant to “evaluate the housing market in the Gunnison Valley in serving the employment needs of the valley and identifying the housing needs of those who make their living locally. It is seeking information to answer questions such as how much and at which price points housing is needed to support local residents and the workforce, the desire for rentals vs. ownership, what people want in terms of number of bedrooms in a unit, and best locations for workforce housing. The study will quantify where gaps exist, and ensure we are aware of any changes in the housing need across all income levels of the local economy since our last outreach effort.”

While phase 1 included an employer survey and was concluded in May, the current phase is centered around an employee and household survey. LaMonica said the purpose is “to provide a clear picture of the specific housing needs by listening to those experiencing the need firsthand. The results will provide us with the necessary data to inform the projects, programs and funding efforts we focus our efforts on,” she said.

Preliminary data from phase 1 showed a high response rate with 134 businesses participating. That represented more than 5,000 local jobs, or about 44% of the jobs in the valley. 

“The employer survey probed the number of year-round and seasonal workers (summer and winter), where workers live (commute patterns), employee retention and recruitment issues, to what extent employee housing is perceived to be an issue, the severity of housing problems by type of employee, and interest in providing housing assistance for employees,” LaMonica explained. 

In both the 2016 and 2021 surveys, housing was identified as a major issue with local employers. “In 2016, 69% of employers felt housing attainably priced for their employees was ‘the most critical’ or ‘one of the more serious’ factors affecting the economy. In 2021, this rose to 90% of employers. That will be assessed for 2024 and we don’t expect this to have gone down,” she said.

While a raw number of 490 needed units were identified for employers in the valley in 2021, about 145 deed restricted workforce housing units have come online since then. Another 370 units are approved or in the planning pipeline if you include the major 252-unit Whetstone project south of Crested Butte.

The current needs assessment will be looking at not only demographics but also what sort of housing people most desire—rentals or ownership. The surveys are asking about the seasonality of work in the valley, wages, housing security and how often workers have to move, and what size of unit is most desired. That survey will be open until July 31.

The Housing Needs Survey is currently available online at https://gvrha.org/housing-needs-assessment/. The data is being collected by Western Spaces, LLC, WSW Consulting and Urban Rural Continuum LLC. The report should be available in October.

“While our jurisdictions have been making progress with the many housing opportunities that have been delivered in recent years, the basic need of stable, suitable housing has remained elusive to so many of our community members,” LaMonica concluded. “It is critical that we have current data to get the funding and make the best decisions to implement the right combination of projects and programming that will make the greatest impact in housing our community.”