GVH purchases one for employee housing

By Katherine Nettles

The county-owned affordable housing Stallion Park townhomes located within the Buckhorn subdivision on Brush Creek Road are finished and ready for occupants. The county has essentially negotiated a sale of one unit to the Gunnison Valley Hospital and has decided to lease the remaining seven units rather than sell them.

County manager Matthew Birnie said that rental income could pay the general fund back for the project, allowing the county to put the units to use in the community while retaining control and ownership.

“We think we would have a hard time replicating the quality for the money—we think it’s an asset we should hold onto,” Birnie said during a commissioner’s meeting on September 17.

All units have three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a one-car garage. All are designated as non-smoking and pets are not allowed, with the exception of service animals. The county has offered four of the units to county employees, particularly those stationed up valley. The other three are in the final process of being leased out.

County employees have until October 18 to apply, and then any units remaining will be opened up to those on the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) list of interested parties.

GVRHA director Jennifer Kermode wrote in an e-mail to the Crested Butte News that this “‘interested list” catalogues people who want to be informed when housing opportunities arise in the valley. Birnie noted that rental properties are in high demand, and Kermode confirmed that there are more than 50 names on that list.

“We welcome folks to email us with what/where they’re interested in and we’ll add them to the list,” Kermode wrote.

The Housing Authority has suggested a first-come/first-served method for interested renters to fill the units and keep things simple. Every potential renter/household has to meet the terms of the income restrictions, which requires working for a local employer a minimum of 30 hours per week annually and earning between 70 percent and 160 percent of the area median income (AMI). This ranges from $44,730 to $102,240, depending on how many members are in a household.

Rent will be calculated based upon the household’s actual income and ranges from $1,300 per month to $2,300 per month. ”These homes are quite energy-efficient, which will keep utility costs low for each household,” wrote Kermode.

The units are finished and three tenants have already moved in.

Hospital gets 150-year lease

The residential lease agreement has been finalized between Gunnison County and the Gunnison Valley Hospital (GVH) for an Elk Creek townhome at Stallion Park. Birnie said that since the Board of County Commissioners holds all the hospital’s property, the hospital could not buy the unit outright. But GVH is paying the full value of the unit for a 100-year lease with five 10-year extensions.

The hospital has asked for some latitude to offer the unit to new employees as short-term transitional housing, even if they earn more than 160 percent of the AMI.

Birnie and the commissioners discussed this request on September 19, and revisited it at length on September 24 with the GVH board of trustees.

“I was clear I don’t want them having an orthopedic surgeon living there long term, but if they need to bring someone in there for a month or two I thought that might be acceptable,” Birnie suggested to the commissioners. The primary intent is to use the townhome for employees who work at the clinic, he said.

Initially the commissioners agreed to amend either the lease agreement or the deed to allow the townhome to be used as transitional housing for up to six months for a full-time employee. An employee who qualifies for the affordable housing would not be restricted in the length of the lease, at GVH’s discretion.

Commissioner John Messner said he isn’t interested in seeing the unit used for traveling nurses, or traveling physicians either. “I know they are trying to accomplish transitional housing,” he said. “I think that’s an important step for an employer to be able to have.”

Commissioner Roland Mason noted there are plenty of short-term rentals available for traveling practitioners.

During a GVH hospital board update to the county the following week, GVH CEO Rob Santilli described circumstances where recruiting doctors, physician assistants or “high-end technical staff” can hinge on the hospital offering housing.

Messner emphasized that “The goal of this particular publicly funded affordable housing project is to offer those in need a long-term lease,” and he held firm on the six-month window during which the hospital could allow a newly recruited employee to live there despite higher income.

“This physician issue is a problem. But I think there are free market units that could be used for that. This is for the nurses, techs, staff,” Messner said.

Santilli said he feels a little crunched with the high-end technical staff, who are basically earning less than $100,000 and fall into a category outside of affordable housing eligibility but struggle to find a reasonable rent situation.

“Yes, there’s a cliff where you qualify and then you don’t qualify,” acknowledged Messner.

Mason said he understands that it is challenging to move somewhere and then have to move again six months later.

“I feel pretty firm on the 160 percent AMI for the long term. I would be willing to negotiate maybe a few more months in here, maybe eight or nine months—but less than a year,” he said.

Commissioner Jonathan Houck wondered if these recruitment needs would continually preclude the unit from being used for affordable housing, to which Santilli responded, “For 400 employees, one unit doesn’t make much difference.”

“I think that we’ve got to be careful with letting the hospital make this exception,” said Messner. He and Houck both said they felt six months was enough of an exception for the unit to be out of the affordable housing pool, and warned that the unit may continually be used as transitional housing for new recruits and not get occupied long-term.

The parties agreed to maintain the six-month exception as a compromise, and agreed that the contractual arrangement could be revisited every few years.

Don’t want a “company store” situation exploiting workers

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Town Council agreed to adjust the affordable housing guidelines to address some issues with the latest deed-restricted property that will be owned by local businesses. Ten such units are beginning construction, with seven local businesses already signed up to purchase them for employee housing.

But the council wants to make sure there are no loopholes that might allow non-workers from residing in the units in the future. There was also concern that a business that employs a person might also control their rental situation, which could cause problems.

Council agreed that a Gunnison Valley Rural Housing Authority grievance committee could be utilized to listen to businesses make the case to allow some employees to use the residences if their circumstances didn’t strictly meet the guidelines.

The council will also allow the businesses that own the units to rent to other qualified workers if for some reason they don’t have a qualified employee who needs the space. But that will be capped at two years, after which time the business would have to sell the unit. Business owners also couldn’t buy a unit and live it in themselves.

Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman said several safeguards would ensure the units would be occupied by qualified renters. The approach of the guidelines is “trust but verify,” he told the council in a memo at the September 16 meeting. He said the long-term affordability of the units is also protected with a maximum sales price appreciation cap.

Councilwoman Mallika Magner said she wanted to make sure the guidelines were tight enough to discourage someone intending to cheat the system. She didn’t want to see some parents form a business entity and let their child live in the unit. “I want to make sure there are not ways for subsequent buyers to get around using it for housing full-time Gunnison County employees,” she said.

“We will use our best judgment and the reality is that people living there will have to be employed,” said Yerman.

Magner expressed concern that an employer could have too much control over an employee by holding his or her living situation over his or her head.

“The lease would be between the employee and the business,” Yerman said. “So that is up to the business.

“So if someone is in an untenable situation, like being sexually harassed at work, the person has to just suck it up or lose their housing?” asked Magner.

“In a case like that there are other legal recourses,” said town manager Dara MacDonald.

“That’s easier said than done sometimes,” said Magner.

“The town gives employees 60 days to vacate their units in the employee apartments we own,” said MacDonald.

“So with these it is up to the lease? An employer could hire someone and put them in the unit and then find someone a little better and tell the first person they have to leave?” asked mayor Jim Schmidt.

“The tenants have rights under Colorado law but the town doesn’t want to get involved in tenant-landlord disputes,” said MacDonald.

“We are trying to protect the people who work here,” said Magner. “Can we add a 60-day provision?”

“Look at it from the other side. A really bad employee can hurt the business and other employees as well,” said Yerman, citing a situation he was in with such a unit while working at a t-shirt shop in Vail. “No one would want that person to stay around.”

“I agree it is a two-way street,” said Schmidt, who said he had to fire people immediately in the past for stealing.

“Businesses are putting long-term loyal employees in these units,” said councilwoman Laura Mitchell. “They are housing their managers.”

“We need to be thinking two or three businesses down the road,” said Magner. “We don’t want a ‘company store’ situation where a business exploits their workers. It is unusual to have housing linked to employment. I want to avoid situations where employers can take advantage of employees.”

“We also have to trust the process and the local businesses,” said Mitchell. “We can’t pick it all apart.”

Town attorney Barbara Green said under state regulations, a renter couldn’t be forcibly kicked out of a place for about a month.

The council agreed to approve the changes in the guidelines with the understanding the staff needed to be aware of people trying to cheat or take advantage of the system.

Local owners securing places for good employees in CB

By Mark Reaman

What could have been a big issue with Crested Butte’s Paradise Park affordable housing project has turned into a big opportunity for some local businesses. The ten units in Phase 2 of the project are being snapped up by local business interests who want to secure housing for future employees.

As of this week, seven business owners have put down 10 percent of the cost on nine of the units, with two more businesses expressing interest in the remaining unit.

“I am super-stoked and we can move comfortably ahead with the second phase of the project,” Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman said Monday. “I hope this turns into the model for public/private partnerships to build rental property that is desperately needed across the mountain west.”

Because only 20 people applied for the lottery to get one of the 15 affordable units in Phase 1, there was some significant doubt about moving ahead with the second phase. The town, along with project developer Joel Wisian of Bywater Development, held an informational meeting with local businesses last Tuesday, June 11. Less than a week later, 90 percent of the units were spoken for, with actual down payments in hand.

The ten units are situated in two triplexes and two duplexes. Prices range between $221,000 and $331,000 depending on the size and number of bedrooms in a unit.

Yerman had told the business people at the June 11 meeting that if the plan were to go forward, he would need definite answers by July. He got his answer sooner.

“I’m proud of our business community for stepping up and taking the lead on securing housing for their employees. I’ve always thought we could work out a plan with local businesses that would allow them to be sustainable by housing reliable employees blocks from their businesses in town,” he said. “I didn’t expect the turnout we saw on June 11 so I am totally impressed that the local business community stepped up and put money down so quickly. I am very excited that we can proceed seamlessly with Phase 2.”

Among the businesses that have signed up for the units are restaurants, contractors, property management and even a science research facility. They all meet the criteria that restrict the renters of the units to local workers and residents. Contracts are currently pending and once executed, Yerman said, the specific names of the businesses will become public.

“They all came in and were excited to be a part of this new program,” said Yerman. “They all said they couldn’t keep employees because of how hard it was for the workers to find housing up here, so they were appreciative of this opportunity to purchase units.”

The idea is to now break ground on Phase 2 this summer on the heels of the units in Phase 1 and have the ten units completed by June 2020.

The units are being sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If the demand exceeds the 10 units available, which seems likely, the model will be included into the town’s five-year housing plan for additional units to be built using this model. The council will see an amendment to the housing guideline on July 2 for how these units would be regulated and how they would function.

“I’ve been waiting for this for years”

by Than Acuff

Posing a unique idea to business owners in Gunnison County at an informational meeting at Bonez on Tuesday, June 11, the town of Crested Butte and Bywater Development contractor Joel Wisian took the next step toward creating workforce affordable housing.

Based on attendance and the energy in the room, the business community liked the idea and it looks to be moving forward.

Town of Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman has been sitting on the idea for a while. When the application process for Phase One of Crested Butte’s affordable housing project Paradise Park opened, response was a bit more tepid than expected.

Based on surveys on affordable housing, the town expected as many as 40 people to enter into the lottery for Phase One of the Paradise Park plan. In the end, 24 applications were turned in for a shot at 15 available units. Based on further research into those applications by the Gunnison Valley Rural Housing Authority, as many as a third of those applications may not make it through the final loan process.

That shortfall cast a shadow on the additional 10 units that would be offered in Phase Two, slated to break ground this summer as well. That’s when Yerman pitched his idea to the Crested Butte Town Council on how to sell those 10 units in Phase Two.

The idea, supported by Paradise Park developer Wisian of Bywater, is to offer the 10 units to the Gunnison County business community for purchase. The council agreed and Yerman, Wisian and Ashley Upchurch of the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Chamber of Commerce then held an informational meeting at Bonez open to the business community to present it.

Business owners from painting companies, property management companies and restaurants to members of the non-profit sector showed up and, for all intents and purposes, seemed to take to the idea.

The 10 units, available in two triplexes and two duplexes, would be for sale to members of the business community who meet a certain number of criteria, which include a business whose address is located within Gunnison County, whose business employs employees within Gunnison County and/or whose business taxes are paid within Gunnison County.

Those in attendance posed a variety of questions to Wisian and Yerman. Would there be homeowner’s dues? Who would plow? What about parking? While the business would be tasked with renting the unit to their employees, could it actually be in someone else’s name?

In the end they liked what they heard. No, there are no homeowner’s dues. The town would contract out the plowing and the cost would be split up between the 20 people renting and would be included in their water bill. There’s enough room for four parking spaces per duplex unit and six spaces per each triplex unit. And, actually, the unit purchased can be in someone else’s name.

“Can you get solar on them?” asked PR Property Management owner Greg Wiggins.

“Yes, as long as it’s approved by BOZAR,” answered Wisian. “They’d be a good fit for that.”

That expense would be on the homeowner, though. Other changes to the pre-approved unit plans are heavily discouraged as the price point of the units, between $221,582 for a one-bedroom and $331,869 for a three-bedroom, is based upon how they are designed and already approved.

“There’s a little flexibility,” added Wisian. “With 10 percent down needed in Phase Two, there’s a little more buy in so I can work a little bit on changes with the homeowner.”

Yerman estimates the rent to come in between $550 and $750 per room but that it ultimately depends on the owner and their loan.

Wisian went on to describe the construction of the units and noted the price includes a full set of appliances.

The businesses would then be responsible for renting those units to their employees. Otherwise, they could rent them to anyone who meets the rental deed-restricted rules. In addition, rental contracts can be for no less than six months and units cannot be vacant any longer than three months.

“When’s the lottery open on this?” asked Christie Hicks, executive director for Crested Butte Nordic.

“These are for sale today,” responded Wisian.

“When will they be ready?” Hicks then asked.

According to Wisian, if the units sell and developers can break ground by July, they should all have the certificates of occupancy between April and June of next year.

About the only hindrance to the plan seems to be the timeline as Yerman and Wisian are looking for commitments from businesses now.

“We have until July to know businesses are interested or we’re not going to build them this year,” said Yerman. “But, I think we’re going to sell them.”

“I’ve been waiting for something like this for years,” said owner of the Secret Stash and Bonez restaurants Kyleena Falzone. “I’m constantly struggling with housing for my employees. I’ve lost too many great people because they can’t afford to stay in the valley.”

For more information and images of the units for sale go to bywatercolorado.com/homes-for-businesses-to-purchase.

Get your applications now

by Mark Reaman

The town of Crested Butte, in conjunction with Bywater Development LLC, is preparing to break ground on a $7 million Paradise Park affordable housing project in about two months. While the first shovel of dirt is slated to be turned on block 76 by Rainbow Park on June 1, the lottery to select those interested in purchasing one of the first 15 deed-restricted units is set for June 20.

Applications for the lottery are now available on the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority website (gvrha.org). Applications are due in by May 17.

“It takes some time to ensure those in the lottery are qualified buyers for the properties,” said Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman. “Please do not wait until the last minute to complete and turn them in. If there are details missing you may have to provide more information to have them fixed before your application is deemed complete before the deadline.”

There will actually be 17 units constructed in the first phase of the project but the town of Crested Butte has dibs on two units, to be used as employee rentals. The town will purchase the duplex for $600,000. Yerman said the other 15 units would be offered for ownership to qualified buyers. Six of the units will go to persons making below 120 percent of the Annual Median Income. The rest will go to people making up to 200 percent of AMI, or about $124,600 for a three-person household. Depending on income and the number of bedrooms, prices will range between $197,769 and $397,877.

“Phase 1 units will be move-in-ready for applicants starting December 1, 2019 to May 1, 2020,” explained Yerman. “Depending on the level of interest, a second lottery for an additional 10 units will be held. The Phase 2 lottery would take place on August 8.

The total vertical construction costs for the project are $6 million. According to Yerman, the town is assisting with an additional $900,000 to subsidize the project by paying for water and sewer taps, offsetting fire suppression sprinkler costs, surveying and title work, and the installation of a water main. The purchase of the town duplex as a pre-sold unit brings the total town contribution to $1.5 million.

Anyone interested in applying for affordable housing is encouraged to take the town housing survey by going to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/block76.

John Stock for Lazy K; Potentially Gatesco for Lot-22

By Cayla Vidmar

Two affordable housing developments in the city of Gunnison are beginning to move into the next phase, with one developer chosen and agreement negotiations being discussed with another.

North Valley developer John Stock of High Mountain Concepts was chosen for the 56-unit, city-owned Lazy K parcel, and Gary Gates of Gatesco, Inc. is the top choice for the 76-unit, county-owned Lot 22 in the Rock Creek development, both of which are located in the city.

According to Gunnison county manager Matthew Birnie, Gatesco, Inc. and the county are negotiating an agreement for the development of Lot 22, which is in the Rock Creek subdivision on the north side of Gunnison, but nothing is finalized.

The proposed development, according to Gates, is for 70 rental units and six single-family for-sale units. Birnie says 68 of those units will be deed restricted. And Gates says 53 of the units will go to people making under 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Gates says, “One objective in seeking the Rock Creek project is to be able to showcase what can be done and alleviate concerns for Brush Creek. This project will do nothing to address the critical rental housing market in the north end of the valley.”

At this week’s Board of County Commissioner meeting, county manager Matthew Birnie addressed commissioner Roland Mason’s fears about the Corner at Brush Creek and Lot 22 project overlapping for Gatesco. Birnie stated, “There’s a good chance that no matter what, Brush Creek is not getting started this year because they still have to go through our process, and, quite frankly there’s no indication of a project at 156 [units].”

The hope is to break ground this summer on Lot 22, wrote Birnie via email, and meetings with the city of Gunnison have commenced. Gates said Gatesco and the county are “discussing making the six family homes as rentals. I believe the market will have too many ‘affordable units’ for sale at this point between Lazy K and what is planned in the north valley.”

As for the Lazy K parcel, which is off West Tomichi Avenue and 3rd Street, there would be 56 for-sale units, 40 of which would be deed restricted. The neighborhood is spread out among existing ponds, and abuts the Gunnison River. The selected developer, John Stock, incorporated plenty of open space and a community park into the initial design.

Stock’s desire is to coordinate with other developers that submitted proposals for the development, including Dusty Sylvanson. He explains that Sylvanson’s vision was to use the Lazy K development as an opportunity to teach and promote the trades. “We all want to work together to incorporate these aspects into the project,” says Stock.

The design also includes a 1,800-square-foot pre-school, to address a consensus from the local community that quality day care is hard to come by.

Change orders and land transfers

by Mark Reaman

Affordable housing isn’t always cheap. The new Crested Butte affordable housing project in Paradise Park continues to make its way through the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) and is preparing for a spring start to break ground, but the costs are rising out of the gate. Thus far, 17 units have gone through the BOZAR review process and been approved. Another 10 are still on the docket.

As with most construction projects, there are some changes taking place in the process, with two significant changes to the overall cost with Bywater Development, LLC and the Paradise Park project. The first was an additional $65,000, because BOZAR did not want all Smartside siding on the buildings, so cedar siding and stucco were added to the designs. The addition of fire suppression sprinkler systems will cost an additional $17,500 per unit, or more than a quarter million dollars. The Crested Butte Town Council is looking at reconsidering that requirement.

The Town Council approved an amended contract with Bywater at the February 19 meeting. In part, the new contract allows a duplex instead of a triplex to be built on a lot that had a smaller than expected water service line. Bywater was also refunded the $5,300 design costs for that triplex.

A public hearing will be held Monday, March 4 to consider the official transfer of some of the lots from the town to Bywater Development LLC so Bywater can secure construction financing. A second phase of lot transfers will occur after the lottery is held for the units in Phase 1.

Council also heard from affordable housing consultant Willa Williford at the February 19 meeting. She sat on the developer selection committee for the project and assured the council that all considerations between Bywater and the other finalists were done on an “apples-to-apples” basis.

If everything goes as planned, the official groundbreaking for the 27-unit project should occur by June 1 but could be earlier if the snow melts.

In an affordable housing project that is nearing completion with High Mountain Concepts, the town made an error with the type of firewall it had in the budget, so an additional fire coating will be needed, resulting in a $43,000 change order. A second major financial hit came in at the start of the construction process after some additional soil work was needed for some of the lots. The foundations required some soil replacement. Overall, $76,883 in change orders has been approved for that six-unit project, which includes a duplex for the Gunnison School District and should be ready this summer.

Protection from potential foreclosures is the problem

By Katherine Nettles

The Mt. Crested Butte Town Council has been working to protect the deed restriction viability of its upcoming affordable housing units in the Homestead subdivision, even in the event of foreclosure. But challenges from the local lending community are now holding up the developer’s progress.

The Town Council approved a measure on February 19 to extend the contract objection deadlines with developer Lance Windel of Homestead Housing, LLC from February 19, to allow more time for finding solutions to the possible foreclosure issue. The new resolution deadline is March 22.

The need for an extension request stemmed from the amended deed restriction, which included a clause that allowed for the survival of the deed restriction if the property were to go into foreclosure. The council had requested the clause be included because the town of Mt. Crested Butte has lost several other deed-restricted properties in the past when the homeowners went into foreclosure and the town did not have the funds to “buy” the property back.

Mt. Crested Butte community development director Carlos Velado confirmed that the town of Mt. Crested Butte has lost at least three deed-restricted homes this way since 2010.

However, the deed-restriction survivability clause may not be tenable to banks. Velado wrote in a memo to the Town Council that “Upon vetting the Amended Deed Restriction with multiple local lenders, we discovered an unwillingness to be able to finance the Homestead homes under the current deed restriction.”

Velado explained that the applicant, Windel, had worked with the town and Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) to vet the concept of deed restriction survivability with multiple lenders in the valley to “get their temperature” on potential buyers. He said they repeatedly ran into “complications with lenders not wanting to do a loan for certain products.”

GVRHA executive director Jennifer Kermode spoke about extensive efforts to get conventional loan pre-approvals for this project, and said she understood the lenders’ “hesitancy to be impaired in their foreclosure process.”

“I can understand where that might be a problem, because your ‘assumability’ option requires the foreclosing lender to do things—and they don’t like to do things when they are foreclosing. They just want to foreclose, they just want to go through the process, and get it done. They have been hit so hard since 2007 and 2008 and the … costs they had to pay for an unclear, complicated and frequently unfair process,” Kermode said.

Velado echoed that the problem with the survivability clause is that once a property enters the foreclosure process, lenders might have to hold the property for an extended period of time in order to find another qualified deed-restricted buyer from a limited clientele.

“When we initially drafted it … we knew that this was ambitious,” said Velado. “We were trying to model this [document] off of one that has apparently had some success in Telluride … but [banks] were not willing.”

“Who backed those loans?” asked Mt. Crested Butte mayor Todd Barnes, referring to the model used in Telluride.

“We aren’t really sure,” said Velado.

Councilmember Nicholas Kempin argued for the town putting together savings to help in foreclosure situations. “It seems to me that the way we fix this problem is that we have the money [to help in an emergency],” he said.

Barnes said when foreclosures happen, it is often during an economic downturn, when “nobody else has any money to help, either—including the town.”

Town attorney Kathleen Fogo, who has been working with the staff, agreed that the survivability clause might not work. “This is still a work in progress with the banks,” she said. “It seems like this is a moving target … and we may have to find some common ground.”

Meanwhile, Windel cannot move forward without a loan on the project.

“If potential buyers can’t get financing, then we do not have people to put into the units, and in that case Lance does not feel comfortable,” said Velado.

Windel called in to the meeting and spoke about his doubts in getting any banks to approve the clause. “My only concern is that I have a soft application with two banks in the valley, because you don’t have a takeout on the backside,” he said. “We thought we had a bank that was on board … but banking rules are very, very fluid. And what is acceptable to them today may not be tomorrow.”

The Town Council approved the extension, and also agreed that the survivability clause in the amended deed restriction could be removed if needed and replaced with a more commonly practiced deed restriction. Town staff has since followed through with amending the extension and clause to further clarify the process for when a property begins to move into foreclosure. It  states that if a homeowner defaults on a loan, the town has three options to rescue the property for the purposes of saving the deed-restriction.

The first option is to “cure” the default: The town could pay all, or portions of, delinquent payments on behalf of the owner and then bill the owner. This would be pre-foreclosure.

The second option would be for the town to assume the loan and make remaining payments on the promissory note. This would also be pre-foreclosure.

The third option would be acquiring the unit out of foreclosure by exercising the town’s first right of refusal, or “option to purchase.”

The amended document states that if the first lien foreclosed on was a HUD-insured, FHA-, or VA- or USDA-issued loan, and the town exercises none of the options, the deed restriction will be released and become a free-market unit.

Now armed with a deed restriction amendment, the plan is to once again vet terms with local lenders in order to finance the proposed homes in Homestead.

Windel is continuing to work with the town in the early stages of developing the units, and according to the memo from the town staff, the town does not anticipate the extension affecting the original closing date of July 1 for the property.

There will not be a request this November for county voters to raise their taxes to pay for affordable housing in the valley. That’s a good thing because it gives local officials an opportunity to answer hard questions and sift reality from perception.

Some recent anecdotal stories about housing:

A classified ad in last week’s Crested Butte News advertising a little alley house in town for $600 drew more than two dozen phone calls in two days. The place is small and has electric baseboard heat, so utility bills are not always cheap. Messages are still being left a week later. A reasonably priced, stand-alone place located in Crested Butte where a single person or couple could cuddle up is an obviously attractive affordable alternative for locals. How many such places will remain available into the future?

A two-bedroom condo in Crested Butte South advertised for $700 per bedroom drew about a half-dozen calls. People in that rental category had a few open choices in January so the condo sat empty for more than a month. A similar unit in the same complex is still empty until May. Talk about a housing crisis: An empty condo with a mortgage payment staring someone in the face. Is that a symptom of the season, the location, the rent or the crisis?

A funky home in town with little insulation and tight quarters houses several young workers. It is the stereotypical ski bum house in Crested Butte. It is crowded, cold and cheap. It has been purchased, with the new owners planning to tear it down and turn it into a nice Crested Butte home that meets code and will probably house a second homeowner or upper-middle-class family coming to the valley for the small-town vibe and schools. In the meantime, there aren’t many cold and cheap places left for the current renters to move into. Newer, more efficient units cost more money and so rents are higher to pay the mortgages. Is that a housing issue or a wage issue?

The Crested Butte Town Council has basically approved more than $300,000 in change orders for affordable housing units in the pipeline in the last month. Soil issues, firewalls and sprinkler requirements have added to the major cost increases. The price of “affordable” units keeps creeping up as a result. One side of the new deed-restricted duplexes that just went under contract did so at $275,000. Depending on income, a three-bedroom duplex in the Paradise Park project could run about $365,000. Maximum cost for a deed-restricted three-bedroom single family home in town is more than $430,000. I wonder how and why people pining to get a piece of this paradise are willing to spend such big bucks for a townhouse or home that is essentially prohibited from increasing in equity value. I suppose making the call that you are willing to stay in Crested Butte forever is a life choice but is it a choice that might be questioned when you can’t tap into the home’s equity for college costs or retirement? I hope it all works out. And it makes me realize how lucky I was to get here and buy in when I did.

As for the costs of sprinklers: Everyone agrees they are a tad safer than a two-hour firewall. Are they a quarter-million dollars safer? Maybe.

Let us not forget that sprinklers went off and displaced scores of local workers in the 2014 winter season at the Marcellina apartments in Mt. Crested Butte. That complex has had four sprinkler-related issues (one this week) that displaced locals since then. The Timbers, as it is known now, was okayed by the town last December to allow 12 of its 44 units to be occupied because of sprinkler accidents. On Tuesday of this week (believe it or not) another sprinkler issue sent those people packing when a construction guy nipped the sprinkler head in a wall, causing another big water leak. They were out less than a day but…

In the worst-case scenario, sprinklers are the best solution. In a normal-case scenario, they are an expensive safety net that has at times resulted in bad consequences. So is the expense of a sprinkler system a good thing or a bad thing for affordable housing?

I am glad that the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority board has decided to postpone another attempt to ask voters to raise their taxes for affordable housing. They want to finalize a comprehensive plan. I hope they also take the time to answer other obvious but difficult questions:

How are the major employers in the valley—the ski area, the university, the hospital, for example—stepping up to house their own employees without public subsidies? Is the housing crisis a year-round crisis or is it focused on the summer and start of the ski season? Is it a rental crisis or a for-sale crisis? What’s the coordinated plan in our one valley for all these units being developed or is it each entity trying to address what they can? Is it important to build for the low-income $20K/year ski bum demographic or the middle-class family of four who makes $100,000 or the professional who wants to move here and can’t afford a million-dollar house but can pay for a $450,000 townhome? I know the needs assessment report of a few years ago attempted to answer some of these questions, but are those answers—which to me seemed a bit high—currently relevant?

With Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, the city of Gunnison and Gunnison County all actively working to build deed-restricted units at the moment, how will this sudden influx of new housing stock impact the workforce housing market? There are literally hundreds of potential new deed-restricted units in the immediate pipeline and when completed that has to have an impact on supply and demand and the ability to fill all those units—right?

There seems a universal assumption by elected and government officials that every piece of affordable housing that is built will immediately have a line of willing renters and buyers outside every new door. Is that really true? In the last Crested Butte housing lottery there were 26 qualified applicants for seven properties. The next lottery is this summer and has 25 units available. Mt. Crested Butte has 22 units coming in. Brush Creek? Throw in the county and the city of Gunnison’s deed-restricted properties that are being worked on at Stallion Park, the Lazy K and Rock Creek and does that not raise anyone’s eyebrows besides mine? I’m not a big math guy — but do the math.

Is there an end to the amount of deed-restricted housing needed in the valley or do we keep building more as the July business need arises? Or do we replace the housing stock that is being eliminated at the moment, and say that’s it? What’s that number? If private developers include free-market houses as part of their project to pay for the low-income rentals or sales (as in the Corner at Brush Creek proposal), will the people who currently long-term-rent free-market units lower their prices as the market would certainly dictate, or would they join the short-term rental wave?

Affordable housing is a tricky topic and it always has been in the valley. With all this activity focused on the “crisis,” are the right units being developed in the right places?

Ideally, people of all income levels would be able to live near their work and not pay more than 25 percent of their income for housing. Ideally, the local workers could live in a town where services are abundant and the need for a car is minimal. Ideally, every business would have exactly the number of employees it needs in both July and April. Ideally, the ski bums, local families, single professionals, visitors and second homeowners figure out they need one another to be a balanced community with a tourist economy. Real communities have real people living in them. Getting to that balance, however, isn’t easy without first answering hard questions and looking at the realities and not just the perceptions.

—Mark Reaman

Stallion Park townhomes to be complete in March

By Cayla Vidmar

Two-story townhomes with one-car garages, three bedrooms, two and half baths and great views from the master bedroom are coming online for the valley’s affordable housing market in March.

Gunnison County manager Matthew Birnie shared details of the Stallion Park project located in the Buckhorn subdivision with the Board of County Commissioners last week, and said of the project “The units are cool. They’re going to be neat.”

The Stallion Park townhouse-style buildings will consist of eight deed-restricted, 1,500-square-foot for-sale units, and will cost income-qualified applicants $310,000. “Stallion Park is plugging away. We’ve got one unit trimmed out, and we’re expecting to have all those done by the end of March,” said Birnie.

The units are not for sale yet, but Birnie said some public employers have expressed interest, including the Gunnison Valley Hospital and the Gunnison Watershed School District. “We will give them an opportunity, and then whatever we have left we’ll put into an affordable housing lottery,” Birnie concluded, which Jennifer Kermode, executive director of Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority, anticipates they will manage.

County commission chairperson Jonathan Houck said, “It’s important to have these projects moving forward at different stages,” regarding the various affordable housing projects in the works throughout the valley.

Of those various projects, Kermode writes that the county has received multiple proposals for the Rock Creek/Lot 22 project in Gunnison, the city has received several proposals for the Lazy K project, and the Housing Authority is working with a developer for the GardenWalk rental complex in Gunnison, in the entitlement phase.

The GardenWalk will be similar to the Anthracite Place in Crested Butte, in that it is a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) complex.