The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Duplexes will be ready in just over a year
By Mark Reaman
The next project for affordable housing construction in Crested Butte was okayed by the Town Council on Monday, May 21 with approval to spend more than $2 million for eight deed-restricted affordable housing duplexes in town. The project should break ground within the next few weeks.
The town will purchase one of the duplexes. Another of the duplexes will be sold to the Gunnison school district for an employee rental. The remaining units will go to local resident lottery winners who meet income restrictions. The duplexes range in size from a one-bedroom unit that is 650 square feet to a three-bedroom unit that is 1,300 square feet. Mountain High Concepts is working with the town to construct the units.
The total cost for the units will come in at about $2,062,500. According to the town community development department figures, that means the cost per unit is $257,812. “This is below the target affordability range for people in the 120 percent AMI [area median income] category. The units will be priced according to square footage and size,” explained community development director Michael Yerman.
The town will spend $520,000 on one of the completed duplexes for a rental to be used by town employees. Yerman said the town would recoup the remaining $1,543,000 through sales of the remaining six units, which will replenish the general fund reserves used to construct the units. The duplexes should be ready for occupancy by August 2019.
“It is a great project that will serve the community,” noted town Council member Kent Cowherd. The rest of the council agreed, voting unanimously to spend the money and get the project in the ground.
