County awarded $10 million for Whetstone

The approved sketch plan of the Whetstone property includes a greenspace, a perimeter trail and a three-story apartment complex next to Hwy. 135. (Photo courtesy of Gunnison County)

This week, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) awarded Gunnison County $10 million for Whetstone, its largest and most ambitious affordable housing development. The money is slated for horizontal infrastructure, like roads, water, sewer, electric and sidewalks. Although the total project cost is not known at this time, the $10 million award represents just over 60% of the estimated total infrastructure.

“This grant is catalytic and critical for the Whetstone project,” wrote Assistant County Manager for Community and Economic Development Cathie Pagano in a statement to the Times. “As we begin to engage with development partners, this funding enables Gunnison County to have a strong financial position and a solid foundation to attract quality developers.”

Whetstone will offer the valley 231 units on a 15-acre parcel  a mile and half south of Crested Butte. The county purchased the parcel in 2019, and work started in the spring of 2021. The sketch plan proposal, approved in February, outlines units of multiple building types: triplexes, townhomes and apartments. The goal is that the development be 100% deed-restricted, although the county’s land use resolution only requires at least 40% to be considered an affordable housing project.

The cost to build Whetstone will affect the eventual cost for people to rent or buy the units, Pagano wrote in an email, so reducing building costs directly affects the development’s affordability. 

The county is corralling funding for several aspects of the project, including updates to the Brush Creek Road intersection that will include a pedestrian underpass under Hwy. 135 and a connection to the Deli trail. Martin Schmidt, assistant county manager for Public Works, is working to secure a $2.5 million grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation for the underpass. If the application is approved, the county would have to match just over $600,000 to bring the total to $3.1 million.

The DOLA funding for the county represents a third of the $30 million awarded for affordable housing projects across Colorado. The money was distributed through the Transformational Affordable Housing Grant Program, which will provide nearly 600 additional affordable housing units to Colorado residents. Gunnison’s $10 million share was the highest amount awarded to any county.

“We know the state has worked hard to prioritize affordable housing and these large grant opportunities cement that prioritization,” Pagano said.

(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@gunnisontimes.com.)