The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Here we go! As the saying goes—there is nothing affordable about affordable housing.
The 252-unit Whetstone community housing development is slated to break ground next month two miles south of Crested Butte. Talk about change! The county commissioners on Tuesday gave the thumbs up to issue and sell more than a $118 million worth of revenue bonds. Real money probably for even Mark Walter!
We are deep in it now. That project will in theory soak up some of the affordable housing needs in the North Valley…and Lord knows there is a need. Recent figures bandied about indicate there is a less than a 1% rental vacancy rate in the county. It isn’t easy to find a spot to live if you are a worker with worker wages. That is stressful.
I had wondered if a project the size of Whetstone was really needed but after being informed that a lot of local workers on the mountain are sharing “employee housing” that is basically a hotel room in one of the ski area lodges, Whetstone makes sense. I would guess most ski bums would prefer a nice place to spend time between shifts instead of feeling like they are always on a middle school sports trip. I anticipate a southern migration from Mt. CB to Whetstone.
The need for a big pressure release valve was also brought home during Monday’s Crested Butte town council meeting. In what could have been a contentious and angry discussion over a super sensitive subject, the almost TV-like Survivor battle for stable housing in the North Valley, those in the game were instead civil and respectful as they emotionally described their bumpy trips.
The meeting centered on a recap of the flawed January 22 affordable housing lottery that ended in a redraw and massive disappointment for some. While the specific problem of humans making mistakes in an emotional situation was hashed out, it was the passion expressed by those involved in the housing search that made the deeper impact. The reality is that not everyone comes out winning a unit but all seemed to embrace the idea of needing to show grace.
Both winners of some of the units in the Paradise Park lottery, along with those who are still in limbo with housing since their name wasn’t drawn in the lottery, expressed the almost desperate need for stability in local housing situations. The pain from both sides was evident. There was jubilation from a person who gets to move into a Paradise Park unit. There were tears from a pregnant mother expecting her second child who said she wasn’t sure her working family could stay in the valley. A single guy who has been through the process more than once and still isn’t in a town unit expressed thanks that the council was at least trying to do something.
The emotions at the meeting were raw and again reminded me that while it has never been easy to live here, we are in unique times. And while I can’t disagree with people who say not everyone “deserves” a three-bedroom house with a yard for the dog two blocks from Elk Avenue, I think having working people and young families living in the community they work in is good for everyone.
It makes a community deeper.
It makes a community real.
It makes a community a community.
Whetstone is a bold and big project for our relatively small valley. It will inevitably add to the growth pressures of the North Valley as hundreds more people who need more services relocate up here. It will be built in what looks like shaky economic times that could slow down business. In that sense the dice are being rolled. But if successful it will help make the community better.
Here we go…
—Mark Reaman
