The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Owners decide if they want to start a long-term lease
By Kendra Walker
The Grand Lodge Resort is now temporarily permitted to house local employees in Gunnison County in need of long-term rentals. During the August 6 Mt. Crested Butte town council meeting, the Grand Lodge Resort and Condominium Association presidents requested a temporary waiver to their condominium declaration that requires the owners to short-term rent their condominium units. The council allowed the waiver.
“The purpose of the request is to allow the units to be long-term rented to local employers, including CBMR, as they have been unable to hire workers due to lack of housing,” said community development director Neal Starkebaum in a memo to the council. “This temporary waiver would allow the Grand Lodge to long-term rent their units to local employees until lifted.”
Back when the Grand Lodge was condominiumized from its previous hotel status, the town required that all units be short-term rented to keep the bed base intact for the ski area. Given the housing and employment crisis in the Gunnison Valley over the last several years, some of the base area businesses have taken steps to free up units to help house employees.
In 2021, the Mt. CB town council adopted resolutions allowing both the Grand Lodge and the Elevation Hotel to long-term rent units in order to house its employees and locals. However, the Grand Lodge’s resolution never came into play because the owners of the Grand Lodge Resort and Condominium Association voted on the waiver after the town’s approval, and the vote did not pass.
The association recently voted on the issue again, and after some discussion over the conditions, the council agreed to the temporary waiver allowing Grand Lodge units to be rented for 30 days or more to employees in Gunnison County. The waiver will be effective until October 31, 2029.
There are 228 units in the Grand Lodge. The units in the Grand Lodge are individually owned, so owners have the choice to long-term rent and could then create a master lease with local employers. Grand Lodge representatives told the council that owners of approximately 40 units have expressed interest in long-term leasing moving forward.
Meanwhile, the Elevation Hotel has utilized the town’s waiver and currently rents hotel units long-term to local employees. Last winter season, the hotel housed approximately 60 of its employees and 40 Crested Butte Mountain Resort employees.
Earlier this year, the council extended the Elevation’s waiver to continue renting units to employees on a long-term basis for three more years as it embarks on the planning and construction stages of its upcoming redevelopment project. The Elevation’s redevelopment plan will include major renovations beginning April 2025, with the plan to convert some of the 500-square-foot hotel studio units into two- and three-bedroom condo residences. The project is anticipated for completion before the 2026 ski season, and Elevation representatives have expressed a high priority to work on potential housing solutions for the hotel employees during and after the renovation project.
