The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Property management agreement hearing scheduled for September 15
by Katherine Nettles and Mark Reaman
Despite having an approved temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) since earlier this summer, the Mineral Point affordable housing project in Crested Butte across from the Gas Café seems as if it will continue its record of delay.
Gunnison County is in the process of preparing to manage the recently completed project. The Gunnison County Housing Authority (GCHA) will take over the management process for the 34 apartment units located at Sixth Street and Butte Avenue, sometime this fall once the organization has fully vetted the project for anticipated maintenance and finalizes the legal handoff process.
Facilitated through the town of Crested Butte, Indianapolis-based developer TWG Development owns the project, and since the units are a LIHTC (Low-income Housing Tax Credit) project, certain requirements include that a minimum of one unit in each building be occupied by the end of 2026. The GCHA has been accepting letters of interest for months, and applicants must earn less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) which is $59,400 annually for two people. The developer initially planned to have the units occupied in 2025, but a series of delays due to construction issues have altered that schedule. The units were officially completed and issued a temporary certificate of completion (TCO) in early August.
The GCHA, which has taken over many of the operations of the former Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) that dissolved in 2025, is managed by county chief financial officer Melissa LaMonica and LaMonica responded to an inquiry by the Crested Butte News this week regarding timeline expectations to bring the project into the rental pool for the North Valley. LaMonica acknowledged that there have been some delays in getting the rentals up and running.
“The Gunnison County Housing Authority is currently awaiting finalization of its property management agreement with TWG for Mineral Point, which has been a challenging process over the last number of months,” wrote LaMonica. “We are pleased that the agreement is finally scheduled for consideration by the Housing Authority Board on September 15. But until that agreement is executed, there has not been a formal handoff of the property to the Housing Authority and we are not yet in a position to begin accepting rental applications.
“While Mineral Point has received its certificate of occupancy, before beginning the lease-up process, the Housing Authority needs to be trained on building systems, must be satisfied that the units are fully ready for resident occupancy, and must be certain that all outstanding construction punch-list items have been appropriately addressed by TWG,” continued LaMonica. “Our experience with previous new-construction lease-ups has reinforced the importance of taking the time to verify that building systems, fixtures and other components are functioning as intended before residents move in.”
She confirmed that the GCHA has been fully engaged with TWG in all pre-leasing activity and is prepared to move forward with the lease-up once the management agreement is finalized and the property has been formally turned over to the GCHA in a condition that meets those expectations. “We look forward to working with TWG to complete those remaining steps as quickly as possible,” she said.
Crested Butte housing director Erin Ganser said the TCO was issued more than a month ago. “The town isn’t a party to the property management agreement or part of operations; we just hold the land lease and operate the soil gas mitigation system. We’re anxious to get people into these homes and have voiced to both parties that we’re at the ready to support lease up efforts.”
She said the current interest list for Mineral Point already shows strong demand. “With 67 households expressing interest for 34 units, the property already has significantly more households than available units,” Ganser said. “This is typical for new affordable housing and indicates that the community is responding.”
Ganser explained that the county’s Housing Needs Assessment identifies that “approximately 257 households in the North Valley need housing at these income levels. This is a broad estimate of overall need, not a prediction of how many people will immediately sign up on an interest list. Many of those households are already housed, doubled up, or living in situations that are unstable but not immediately prompting them to pursue new housing. Interest lists usually grow once leasing officially opens and the people see active outreach, signage and advertising.”
