Developer estimates 2020 completion, says, “I want to be realistic”

By Katherine Nettles

The recently approved affordable housing project in Mt. Crested Butte’s Homestead development will take a bit longer than first anticipated, based on unforeseen delays in getting the project under contract. Lance Windel, the developer approved to build the housing units within the Prospect subdivision, addressed the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council on December 18 to give an update on his projected finish date.

“I don’t think I can make a start on this until summer,” said Windel. It was originally hoped he could have started the project by now and have the units completed as early as next Thanksgiving.

Windel cited the timing of logistics and not having been able to begin in the summer of 2018 as originally expected. “We are probably talking about the end of February or March before I can get in front of the HOA to get their approvals,” said Windel. “And then I have to go through the architectural and engineering process.”

Windel then outlined several other steps in designing and constructing 22 affordable townhome units, which, due to the Prospect development demands, were held up in the approval process for several months longer than expected.

He said that while he can pour concrete foundations and set lines for water, sewage and other utilities, he did not want to begin the process of framing if he couldn’t finish it until after another winter has passed.

“I do not want to have exposed wood frames next winter,” he said. “I think the best answer we can get is to … not start framing until March of 2020, which would still make Thanksgiving [completion]. It will still be an 18-month build on the 22 units.

It’s not where I want to be, but I want to be realistic,” concluded Windel.

Councilmember Dwayne Lehnertz pushed back a bit on the timeframe and Windel’s concerns about wood exposure, saying, “June seems to be a more realistic time to begin, anyway. What exposed wood would you still have as long as you have the envelope tight? You should still be able to move things along, to my way of thinking.”

Windel responded that he preferred to take a conservative approach for his first mountain climate project, in order to avoid damaged building materials or promising people homes that did not meet their deadline. He agreed that by winter of 2019, “I could probably be what we call ‘in the dry.’ I could have my roof on, but I don’t think that I could have all my siding and exterior finishes done.”

Windel acknowledged that manufacturers state it is okay to leave a “zip wall,” the green (OSB)—oriented strand board, an engineered wood similar to particle board—exposed for about six months, or to leave a Tyvek or house wrap exposed. “You could do it. But in your winters, I’m just not super-excited about it. That may be me being conservative, but I have not built in a climate like this, and … I just don’t want to mess it up,” Windel said.

He also said he was okay letting his builders slog through the mud to frame in March of 2020, but he doesn’t want to pour concrete the spring prior to that in the mud.

Windel has constructed several affordable housing developments in Oklahoma, where he is based. “I do 30 homes in four months in Oklahoma,” he said.

As Lehnertz persisted in challenging the need for delay, community development director Carlos Velado spoke up to say, “An 18-month timeframe for 22 units is still ambitious. We have single-family homes that take much longer than this would.”

“And even if I couldn’t be framing until June [2020] I could still be done by December,” said Windel, speaking of the 2020 timeline.

“The timeframe that is being suggested has obviously had to change a bit because of delays that were not attributable to Lance,” said town attorney Kathleen Fogo.

“I appreciate you saying that,” responded Windel.

Fogo said Windel was still in compliance with the terms of his contract, and was simply updating an estimated timeframe.

Prior to the meeting, Windel spoke by phone with Crested Butte News about his concerns with the previous timeline. “I am very practiced in putting up affordable housing,” he said. “That’s what we specialize in. Not in Colorado, but in Oklahoma. I don’t work in big cities. I specialize in rural affordable housing…. I haven’t done it in the mountains before. “

Windel said his goals for the project are to meet the needs of those who are depending on him. “My goal is that I’m not there to bring my own architectural flair to the town. They are happy with what the neighborhood is, so we are going to match the neighborhood.”

The Prospect developer owns 13 of the lots to be used for the units, while the town of Mt. Crested Butte owns nine lots. Both have worked as stakeholders to attain affordable housing as part of the requirement for the Prospect subdivision, and the 22 townhomes will satisfy their obligation for the final 15 non–deed-restricted homes that Prospect can build in the future.

“I think that its going to be the housing that working folks in the North Valley need, at that price point they need,” said Windel. “The problem that I have today is that this process dragged out a little longer than I would have liked. So there are several months before I can start construction.”

Windel also said that while he wished the approval process had gone faster, he was not interested in pointing any fingers.

“I would love to start this in the spring—I just can’t imagine how that will happen,” he said.

More than 80 stakeholders participating, including Gunnison County

By Cayla Vidmar

Gunnison County commissioner John Messner hopes his work with a new state group will result in better affordable housing opportunities in the county.

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on December 18, Messner shared with his fellow board members his work in the state stakeholder conversation for affordable/workforce housing solutions. The goal is to “develop a package of legislation to introduce during the 2019 state legislative session,” says Messner.

“Having watched over 40 bills get introduced to the state legislature regarding housing over the last two sessions, and get killed,” Messner writes via email, “our hope was to convene a group of legislators and stakeholders to have in-depth conversation and collaboration.”

By convening this large group, Messner hopes to create a package of legislation that has the support to pass, and be effective in addressing affordable and workforce housing challenges that “are occurring statewide.”

The group is comprised of more than 80 stakeholders from across the state of Colorado, including state and local government, private developers, major employers and social service non-profits, to name a few.

According to a work group email, the stakeholders participated in two meetings this fall to develop “a path forward on housing solutions for Colorado.” This “path forward” is comprised of six subgroups, which will work on different affordable housing solutions. These subgroups include: high level state planning structure; additional state funding; employer contribution first-time homebuyer program; employer role in housing solutions; affordable housing tax credits; and flexible funding, opportunities and incentives for developers.

Messner will sit on the high-level state group, which will plan structure, flexible funding and opportunities and incentives for developers’ subgroups moving forward.

“Affordable and workforce housing is an issue that affects the entire state, yet the possible solutions and impacts are different from community to community,” says Messner. He says that while there is work being done on the local level, “I felt it was also critical to develop resources and solutions at the state level as well. It will ultimately take a comprehensive approach from private developers and employers, local, state and federal government and non-profits and foundations to find solutions to this ongoing challenge,” concludes Messner.

Agreement to buy, sell and develop 22 units within a year

By Katherine Nettles

The plan to develop the remaining 22 affordable homes within the Prospect Homestead subdivision is taking shape, and in two separate ordinances last week the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council approved the process and moved into a contract with a developer to buy, sell and develop the property.

The deed-restricted units represent part of the housing units required by the annexation agreement for the Prospect subdivision, located northeast of Crested Butte Mountain Resort. The plan for a total of 37 deed-restricted units near the entrance makes up the Homestead workforce housing component of the project.

The first resolution council passed was to legally memorialize that once the 22 Homestead lots are sold to the potential developer, Lance Windle of Homestead Housing, LLC, the other development company named Prospect Development Company, Inc. will have met its obligation of developing the units according to the agreement. Windle will then take on the development and sale of the units, and Prospect will be uninvolved.

The council also approved the second resolution, in which the town agreed to go into contract with Windle. Windle and the town staff and attorney have been working to complete the contract proposal for units in the subdivision since the summer, as previously reported by the Crested Butte News.

With this contract, Homestead subdivision lots will be sold to Homestead Housing for development and construction of 22 for-sale deed-restricted units.

According to the proposal documents provided to the town, multiple safeguards have been built into the contract to protect the town, Prospect Development and the Homestead Housing. The current Homestead deed restriction has been updated to work with the new units, and purchase priority will still be given to the town employees and to Crested Butte Mountain Resort employees as workforce housing.

The town of Mt. Crested Butte will be taking the Homestead subdivision through a major planned unit development (PUD) alteration application process to accommodate the need for additional parking and snow storage in the subdivision. The new units will be duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes.

Mt. Crested Butte community development director Carlos Velado gave an overview of the process to the council and recalled the delays of recent years. “This developer has been vetted; since summer of 2016 the process has been under way. The delay was that Prospect Development wanted all the exhibits before they would sign off. [Windle] has been waiting patiently. The town agrees that if the sale goes through and Lance buys the property, then it finishes Homestead, which was the requirement for Prospect. This will fulfill the obligation for Prospect,” said Velado.

Velado said there are still a few design considerations, such as needing to double-check square footage, and one provision in the amended deed restriction means the Prospect Homeowners Association would have to approve it.

Among the excitement at moving the contract forward, the council discussed what avenue it would take with the application process for the units.

Town attorney Kathleen Fogo explained that anyone interested in a unit can fill out an application, and if there is a large number of applicants who have gone through the process and been deemed qualified, it can then go to the lottery stage. Currently, two affordable housing lotteries are scheduled to be conducted by the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority in February and June for other projects in the county. The council considered that if timing works out they could add the Homestead project to that same lottery pool on schedule.

“We have a working list of people who have come to us and expressed interest, but this is the first time we have been able to go forward,” said mayor Todd Barnes.

Council member Nicholas Kempin, who had called in for the meeting, suggested an annual number of hours of employment within the county be required for applicants due to the seasonal nature of the economic opportunities available.

The council discussed the concept at length and requested input from Jennifer Kermode of the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA) in the audience. Kermode suggested keeping it a minimum of 32 hours per week on an annual basis, over the span of 52 weeks. Kermode also responded to councilmember concerns of the areas in which the GVRHA works with applicants to ensure a fair and unencumbered process occurs throughout the application and financing aspects of affordable housing.

The council decided to require applicants work an annual average of 30 hours per week in the county, at between 80 and 100 percent of area median income (AMI), per family, in Category I of eligibility, or up to 200 percent of AMI for Category II.

Next comes the beginning of the PUD modification process where the developer can get his financing, then two public hearings and a design review process.

The PUD has included some preliminary work on the design, “but this will really allow him to dive into it,” said Velado.

Windle was unable to attend the meeting due to other engagements, but Velado said his predicted finish date remains at around Thanksgiving 2019, given a spring start, as he has stated in previous meetings.

Two rental units a major hurdle for affordability 

By Katherine Nettles

Although the second reading of the Pitchfork development major alteration was approved by the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council on November 6, community development director Carlos Velado brought up some ongoing issues the developer has with financing the project. The alteration the council had previously approved allowed two of the four units to be sold, while keeping the other two as rentals. The developer, Gunnison County, had requested that all be sold under deed restrictions, but the council had denied that and reached a middle ground of two for sale and two for rent.

“John Cattles [Gunnison County sustainable operations director and the project developer] said he is still trying to make it work, but the rental units are making it more of a challenge for him,” said Velado. “I don’t want to say it’s not going to happen, but there is still going to be more to be done.”

There was discussion of how to help troubleshoot the issue, potentially allowing the units to be sold to a business but then rented for employee benefit.

Mayor Todd Barnes asked if Cattles could do three for sale and one rental, as well.

“We are being told that two and two doesn’t work,” Barnes reflected.

Velado responded that in such a case as the developer decided they could not go through with the project as approved, they would need a do-over, with a new proposal to be approved or denied by the council.

Council member Roman Kolodziej reviewed the project’s history, including that Cattles had wanted to go to fewer units while maintaining the same bedroom count. The council had approved that aspect, but not the aspect of all units being for sale.

“By having two rentals, it ties up some of that [affordable housing] capital for the county,” said Velado. “With a limited pool of money, they are wanting to maximize that.”

Cattles is trying to find out if he can make the numbers work, particularly waiting on input from the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners, which is funding the project, as to what direction to take.

The council determined that since the developer was previously asking for all four units to be for sale, and if the project as currently approved fails in its funding stage, Velado could encourage the developer to come back and ask again for more for-sale units.

“I think there’s no doubt the town would like to see something built on this property,” said Barnes.

School board moving forward on discussions of town of Crested Butte option

by Anika Pepper

Gunnison Watershed REJ1 School District superintendent Dr. Leslie Nichols presented a variety of affordable housing options to the school board on Monday night for the district to invest in, in an effort to combat the continuing issue of affordable housing in the Gunnison Valley. Nichols suggested that for this project to be successful, there must be a specific plan in place for these properties.

Nichols said there needed to be a target for the number of units, general location of the units within the valley, how many years the district needs to get from where they are now to having affordable housing options for their teachers, and a full slate of policies supporting their involvement in the housing market as a large employer.

Looking specifically at the Paradise Park housing project in the town of Crested Butte, Nichols said while the cost unexpectedly rose to $590,000 for their duplex unit, the district was prepared. “We budgeted correctly in this year’s budget cycle and we anticipate a $30,000 grant from the Affordable Housing Foundation. We suggest that the remaining $40,000 gap comes from our capital reserves.”

According to Nichols, the Housing Foundation offered a low interest loan on the $40,000 gap, but Nichols explained that they would be able to fund that gap from within the district.

Nichols also recommended continuing the discussion with Gunnison County regarding the units at Stallion Park. Nichols said she does not have a clear view on the prices of those units. “As we develop a plan about housing, county manager Matthew Birnie is putting a lot of pressure on a decision but we have a little bit of time on being thoughtful on our strategy.”

Nichols also suggested looking at options down valley. “The city of Gunnison wants to develop some housing too. We don’t have a plan yet. We don’t know how many units or properties we want here.” Nichols tabled these ideas for a further discussion.

Nearing the end of the presentation on the affordable housing options in the valley, Nichols asked the board how they would like to move forward on the Paradise Park property in Crested Butte. “It will require a formal vote at a meeting eventually,” said Nichols. “We need specific details from the Housing Foundation in order to do a vote, however.”

School board treasurer Dr. Dale Orth responded, “Since all you’re really asking us to do is to approve an expense from a capital fund of $30,000, it still would not allow you to enter into a contract until you have the grant. I would like to see you be able to move forward.”

Courtney Fullmer, school board vice president, asked Nichols if the outcome of 6A factored into the Affordable Housing Foundation’s decision on funding this project. “No,” stated Nichols. “They are not making this decision contingent upon the outcome of the election. I think if 6A passes there will be some options in our plans on this matter.”

While nothing came to a vote at the school board meeting on October 22, the school board seems eager to move forward on the Paradise Park Project as their most viable option for their efforts toward affordable housing in the Gunnison Valley.

Bywater LLC comes in a bit more affordable

By Mark Reaman

Bywater, LLC was selected by the Crested Butte Town Council on Monday to be the official developer of the Paradise Park subdivision build-out that will consist of affordable housing units.

Bywater bested Coburn Partners for the project that will result in 26 new deed-restricted homes on the property located in the northeast side of town near Rainbow Park.

The town went through an extensive public process and ended up negotiating with the two finalists, Bywater and Coburn. Town community development director Michael Yerman said both finalists for the project were very responsive to suggestions while maintaining high-quality designs. While the Coburn team came in with 28 homes and Bywater with 26, the Bywater units were larger and the price point lower on average.

The Bywater group will build five one-bedroom homes that sell for an average of $216,819; 15 two-bedroom units with an average cost of $274,712; and six three-bedroom homes with an average cost of $331,869. All will have deed restrictions.

“All the groups that submitted proposals were great,” Yerman said. “And the final two were creative and responsive. The Coburn group was super good to work with and so the committee found making a recommendation hard. At the end of the day it came down to price point and affordability.”

Yerman said the timeline to break ground is an aggressive one with a full slate of BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) reviews set for the entire winter. A contract is expected to be executed between the town and developer in December and ground should be broken by June 1 of next year. The developer will receive the land at a minimal price from town as part of the $7 million project in order to obtain construction financing but will be obligated to sell deed-restricted units while making a profit. The units will be completely ready for occupancy between 2019 and 2021.

“It is definitely a quick turn-around,” Yerman told the council.

Mayor Jim Schmidt said having the cooperation of the land’s original developers, Bill Lacy and Daniel Dow, made the project feasible and the town was appreciative of the collaboration.

“This is actually really exciting to get under way,” Schmidt noted.

Bywater and the town will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding immediately so that the development approvals can begin with BOZAR.

Working to bring costs down on Block 76 by Rainbow Park

By Mark Reaman

Keeping affordable housing affordable is the next phase of the Crested Butte affordable housing proposal for Block 76 by Rainbow Park that includes some triplex lots in the Paradise Park subdivision.

The council heard three presentations from interested developers and the selection committee is now recommending that staff negotiate with two of them, Coburn Partners and Bywater LLC, to see how they can make the proposal more affordable. The hope is to make a final selection of a developer for the project at the next Crested Butte Town Council meeting on October 15.

Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman told the Town Council at the October 1 meeting that while all three teams had great proposals and could complete the project, they all included too many units priced at the upper end of the income-earning scale. So the selection committee asked the teams to rework their budgets and determined Coburn and Bywater might have the best chance at lowering prices. Bywater had estimated the cost per square foot at $317, Coburn at $320 and the Morrison Group at $361.

So now, according to a memo to the council from Yerman, the staff will enter negotiations “with the intent of finding the lowest possible price points for local buyers, recognizing that the deal must remain profitable for the developer team and that the town potentially has a role in helping to mitigate risk.”

Yerman said the goal is to get the best product at the best price for the $8 million project that would ideally break ground next May.

“When some of the prices approach $400,000, that is too much,” noted Yerman in regard to some of the larger units being proposed.

Mayor Jim Schmidt suggested the committee look at some of the physical units already built by Coburn and Bywater to ensure long-term quality. Yerman said references had been checked for all the development teams and the building department was familiar with their past projects.

“The current building codes make it hard to build crappy buildings now-a-days,” said Yerman. “Finishes and appliances may be different but the building perspective is solid. I feel good where we are. We are now looking at price points. We need to keep working to bring down the costs of some of the units. I’m not sure some of them would sell at the projected price.”

Town manager Dara MacDonald said both developers were responsive to working to get the costs lower. She also said the initial designs will get changed as they work their way through BOZAR (the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) this winter.

Roxana Alvarez and Heli Mae Peterson live in the neighborhood and they expressed concerns with too much density. Noting that when a soccer game or event in the Rainbow Park Pavilion takes place, parking is already very congested, they wanted to make sure that was taken into consideration during the review process.

The staff hopes to have a potential contract for the council to consider awarding the project to a developer at the October 15 Town Council meeting.

Looking at Stallion Park

by Anika Pepper

Leslie Nichols, Gunnison Watershed school district superintendent, was recently approached by Gunnison County representatives with an alternative option for affordable housing for local school staff members in the north end of the valley. The issue came up after construction costs for a couple of duplexes on a piece of property within the town of Crested Butte came in much higher than anticipated.

The proposed alternative property would be located at Stallion Park in the Buckhorn subdivision off of Brush Creek Road.

There are eight units at 1,250 square feet being built by the county that are all three-bedroom and two-bathroom with a garage. The proposed price is $250,000 per unit, a price point that is $45,000 lower than the duplexes being designed in town for the school district. The Stallion Park units are currently under construction; Nichols said they will be framed and finished by the end of the year.

The Gunnison Watershed School District board had many questions for Nichols when she presented this new option at the September 10 board meeting regarding who would manage the properties and if there are deed restrictions in place for the properties. Nichols said she would get more information and report back to the board with answers at the next meeting on October 1.

Gathering input for a late October draft

by Mark Reaman

In an effort to formulate a tangible affordable housing operations plan for the county, the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority has hired affordable housing consultant Willa Williford and is reaching out to the various government entities in the valley for suggestions.

Williford met with the Crested Butte Town Council on Monday and they supplied her with some ideas, including the need for a good public process when talking about any affordable housing development.

“We want to build on all the planning efforts of the last five or six years,” Williford told the council at the September 24 meeting. “All four entities [Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte, Gunnison County and the city of Gunnison] have identified different goals and methods so we want to meet with each and come up with an overall plan.” Williford said the hope is to release a first draft of a completed plan by the end of October.

The draft mission statement for the housing authority plan would be to “support the character and economic vitality of each of the communities in the Gunnison Valley by increasing housing choices and opportunities for local residents.”

“Each community is unique and all will have different goals in this area within the larger goal of more housing,” noted councilman Chris Haver.

“I am encouraged with the progress from everyone at the moment,” added mayor Jim Schmidt. “The county is building some units at Stallion Park, the city of Gunnison just had a LIHTC [Low Income Housing Tax Credit] project approved and is looking at some other areas. Mt. Crested Butte is moving with the Homestead subdivision. We are moving on the Paradise Park projects. It is encouraging to see everyone doing real projects.”

Councilman Paul Merck noted that local wages were not growing at the same rate as housing costs and should be addressed in the plan. Williford said that element was part of the draft “Guiding Principles,” where not just physical units would be part of a successful plan, but also “a holistic approach to affordability is needed—we acknowledge that physical deed-restricted homes are the most tangible element of housing affordability, but energy efficiency, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and local wages are all ingredients in a sustainable local cost of living.”

Schmidt added that including ways to provide people with down payment and mortgage assistance along with exploring ideas such as buying down free market units would be valuable as part of the holistic measures.

“This is not a situation you build yourself out of and recognize the place 20 years from now,” Williford said of the local housing shortage. “So purchasing existing units and putting on a deed restriction can be one tool.”

As part of the draft plan there is a chart showing what each of the four entities are doing to encourage affordable housing; Crested Butte has most of the boxes ticked off. The two areas without a checkmark were using an expedited development review for affordable housing projects and updating the land use code to remove barriers.

“I feel good about our code,” said Schmidt. “Some people say they want us to change it to remove barriers so we can add more density but that probably means eliminating parking and places for snow removal. We need those things. Allowing taller buildings would change Crested Butte.”

“I would love to see a list from the staff of things in the code considered low hanging fruit that we might address,” said councilman Jackson Petito. “There may be a few things out there we can talk about to make it easier.”

Yerman also pointed out that while the current Paradise Park project is in an R-2 zone, the upcoming annexation north of town would provide a place where higher density units could be located.

Haver wanted to ensure that in the case of an economic downturn, the housing authority did not give up deed restrictions on properties. He also requested some expert guidance to help come up with strategies. He acknowledged the success in the public process used to move forward with the Paradise Park subdivision project near Rainbow Park. “I love what we did with Block 76 [the block near Rainbow Park] and the public process,” Haver said. “We should review the process and tweak it to make it even better.”

Yerman said the public engagement aspect has sometimes been lacking with some projects throughout the county.

“It is public money or public land so the public has to be involved,” said Haver.

“The town has done a good job with public engagement,” said Yerman. “It is important to community partnerships. We need regional buy-in for regional projects with the big need we have.”

Schmidt noted that the controversial Brush Creek proposal might have benefited with some more early public involvement.

“My subjective criteria for the public process is that it makes the project better,” said Williford. “What I worry about is a NIMBY [Not In My Back Yard] group stopping good projects, so I want to think about that more.”

“The amount of public process is scalable,” suggested town manager Dara MacDonald. “The county doing four duplexes probably doesn’t need much. The town doing Paradise Park calls for more.”

The council wanted, as part of the town goals, to have at least 30 percent of the housing units in town be deed restricted. Councilman Will Dujardin said he wanted it known that the council aspired to have 70 percent of the homes in town occupied by year-round locals. In 2012 that number was about 67 percent, when 733 out of 1,099 dwellings were occupied by long-term locals. The 2018 town census is being conducted and updated number will be released later this year.

Yerman said the council should be looking at income levels that need housing, given that in the recent town housing survey, several long-time local households making more than 200 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) said they needed housing.

“This plan is meant to guide the spending of the money if the tax initiative that is out there this fall is approved,” said Yerman. “It can be a guiding document for the next ten years. And it will probably mean more to our neighbors since town probably doesn’t have a lot of projects left.”

Yerman also made it clear the housing authority had no desire to compete with the free market but rather was meant to fill in the gaps that come when the free market is busy, such as now.

Williford said the county commissioners and the councils from Gunnison and Mt. Crested Butte would also be polled on what they want to see in a comprehensive plan.

Opportunity and challenge with block by Rainbow Park

By Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte Town Council will choose a development team to build affordable housing units on the property next to Rainbow Park at its next meeting.

Three teams spent two and a half hours last Monday pitching proposals to the council that also included some housing on three other lots within the Paradise Park subdivision. All three teams had come up with similar design plans to provide more than 25 deed-restricted units through multi-unit buildings such as duplexes and triplexes. The units would be sold to qualified buyers and would address a range of income levels.

“All three teams are capable of producing a good project,” Crested Butte community development director Michael Yerman told the council at the start of the presentations. He also said the council should realize that while the pitches included detailed designs, the plans would have to be vetted by the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review (BOZAR) and changes would be made throughout the expected two-year project that would break ground in 2019.

The Coburn Group, Bywater LLC, and the Morrison Group of Denver were the three teams chosen to make presentations for the project that ultimately will cost more than $6 million, with construction costs generally coming in between $225 and $250 per square foot.

Representatives of each team had met with town staff and attended a community meeting to get feedback from neighbors. All produced designs reflecting the community input and promised to make sure that the project did not have a “cookie-cutter” feel.

“The trick to this thing was that block 76 [next to Rainbow Park] required the correct circulation and a variety of looks. We treated the alley like a street with things like porches facing the park,” explained Bill Coburn. “We didn’t turn our back to Rainbow Park.”

Coburn Group architect Pete Weber said the challenge and opportunity of the site was having high profile frontage on all four sides of the block, so treating the alley between the houses and the park as a street was a priority. “Another thing we heard loud and clear was the need for adequate storage,” he said. “Everyone has storage in a variety of ways.”

Joel Wisian of Bywater said providing a good living space for future residents was as important as density so his team had proposed 26 total units with 53 bedrooms. “We know that too dense a project can create long-term problems,” he said. “We could add more units but this project will provide a wonderful home for some people. It won’t solve the affordable housing problem in the valley entirely but it can be a good project for those living there and have an impact on the problem. We have to look at today’s problems but also look at the future. We don’t want to pack people in there like sardines. It can be done but we’d prefer not to.”

Bywater architect Jim Barney also said the block by Rainbow Park called for a nice design look on all four sides of the high-profile location. He also designed a corridor running through the block between the units “where people can engage with each other and easily access the park.”

Lynn Crist of the Morrison Group said while she did not live in Crested Butte like Coburn and Wisian, she had the experience to complete the project reflecting Crested Butte’s values. Team architect Kathy Parker had lived in Crested Butte for several years in the 1990s and Laird and Gross Builders would do the construction.

“A lot of our ideas are similar to the other in terms of how the project lays out,” said Parker. “This is designed to provide a variety of looks and we wanted everyone who lives there to have some open space. We wanted to make it feel like it belongs there and the houses were built by different people at different times. We also provided some front-door looks along the alley toward the park.”

Council members touched on concerns with design elements such as snow removal plans, parking and adequate storage space for the units. The issue of construction in winter and keeping on schedule when local subs are already busy was also discussed with each development team.

The original finalist selection committee will meet before the next council meeting to review the detailed proposals, dig deep into the numbers and make a recommendation to the council at the October 1 meeting.

“This will be a difficult decision,” admitted mayor Jim Schmidt. “Everyone has some good elements in their proposals.”