Whetstone: losing something to gain something

One thing that caught my ear during the county’s public hearing on the proposed Whetstone project on Tuesday was the suggestion by Gary Gates, who has built affordable housing units in the county, that he could do it at the same density for approximately $80 million — about $50M less than the estimated $135 million. That’s a lot of money.

Now my assumption, confirmed by Gary, is that the Gates development would not be as extensive in some ways as the county’s plan. While his Paintbrush development in Gunnison charges rents that include utilities (electric, water, sewer), those utilities are pretty standard. Whetstone is going out of the box with a major geothermal component along with other climate actions like providing electric vehicle charging stations. Gates wouldn’t head there in order to keep the costs down.

I have no doubt Gates would meet road standards, include the onsite park and field amenities and provide the same or better quality as his Paintbrush project. He also is focused on providing  housing for the lower-end income earners.

Honestly, Whetstone isn’t 100% guaranteed at this point even with approval for the water and sewer utility extension from Crested Butte and a thumbs up on land use from the county planning commission and commissioners. The rubber hits the road with financing the development. While the county is confident in its pro forma and business plan, anything can happen in the financial market, and interest rates, while coming down now, are a crap shoot. 

It’s a little weird to me (or not) that potential residents are not seeming stoked about this project. I’m hearing that the scale which is not traditional CB is a factor. Living in a big building is not why people move here. The frontline workers like bartenders and lift ops are not confident they will qualify to live there. The largest factor is the fear that the potential rents will take a good chunk of their paycheck. That doesn’t fuel the stoke. While Whetstone is a significant move toward a big piece of the workforce housing puzzle located close to Crested Butte and the jobs, I’m not seeing the meter redline the excitement scale. 

As I’ve said before, from a physical perspective, it seems out of character for our small-town community. I’m not a fan of that part. Building heights reflecting those in neighboring Riverland would seem to meet the “roadway environment” to trigger slower traffic speeds approaching town.

Most people admit Whetstone is not a perfect project. And in government, you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Yeah, it is big, it is dense, and it looks like a project that could have come out of Breckenridge. All of that will send the feel of the North Valley in a new direction. But if done responsibly, it is good…and we’ll all get used to it.

County planning commission chair Roland Mason who grew up in Crested Bute said Tuesday the size of the buildings is probably appropriate for this project given new pressures originating out of CB. “We are losing something (viewshed) to gain something (local housing opportunity),” he said. I agree. He indicated this would not set a precedent for other future development in the corridor. We’ll see about that.

In the big picture, like Roland, as I see and hear of more and more longtime locals having to move when their rental switches ownership or the landlord decides to move back in a unit, the stability of community is more and more unsettled. It can be frightening for our friends and neighbors. CB councilmember Anna Fenerty described how having affordable housing opportunity in Crested Butte impacted her life growing up, and still does. Community stability for working locals is super important in our changing times. Having a place to land, if even for a little while when things turn, is a needed safety valve for the North Valley. Whetstone addresses that.

Providing a stable place for people to live is what is needed right now, and this week’s land use approval is a major and good step forward.  We gain something by losing something. Now, depending on how the financing plays out, I actually find some comfort that an experienced housing developer could be in the wings…but that is for another time.

—Mark Reaman