Resort towns lean into affordable housing with new vigor

A recent report shows that since 2020, the Mountain West has been aggressively pushing for the policies and legislation it needs to address the worsening affordable housing crisis. Its writers believe Colorado resort towns, including Gunnison and Crested Butte, have made remarkable headway as middle class residents fight to stay in their communities. 

Last year was a trying one for affordable housing in the Gunnison Valley. While locals moved into new homes at Sawtooth and the county made progress on Whetstone’s design, some mobile home park residents lost their housing. Home prices at both ends of the valley broke new records, putting homeownership further out of reach for many. 

But mountain communities are addressing the housing shortage with a new intensity, something that is reflected in construction of hundreds of new affordable options across the region. This is true in Gunnison County, where in the past three years, Lazy K, Paintbrush, Mineral Point and Whetstone have been either started or completed, among others. At the same time, short-term rental policies and deed restrictions ensure these homes will remain affordable in the coming years, while new ballot measures funnel money into workforce housing. 

This past November, the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments and the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) released a regional workforce housing report — a thorough overview of affordable housing projects underway in more than 40 rural resort communities across Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, California and Utah (and Whistler in Canada). The report documents new programs and legislation that have helped each community house local workers  — a visible mark of progress as the region tries to maintain its quality of life. 

Blurred lines 

The 2023 workforce housing report comes a short three years after throngs of citygoers and remote workers fled to mountain towns during the pandemic, a phenomenon labeled the “mountain migration.” The move-ins flustered resort communities, some of which were already experiencing change from an influx of wealth. 

A study published shortly after the start of the migration found that 70% of newcomers and an even greater percentage of part-time residents arrived to the high country with wages averaging over $150,000 per year. Sixty percent of full-time residents, most with jobs tied to the local economy, earned notably less. But many of these newcomers never left, “blurring the lines between what were two distinct markets,” the report states.  

“The marketplace for attainable housing is broken, and the only way most workers whose wages are tied to the local economy can step into the housing marketplace (even to rent) is with some combination of a hand-up from government-subsidized housing, down-payment assistance and market regulation,” the report reads. 

But according to its writers, notable progress has been made throughout the region to address the workforce housing shortage. Out of the 43 communities that participated, 21 have a designated fund for housing, and more than half have implemented regulations for short-term rentals. Many have special taxes to generate additional cash to build affordable homes and apartments in their communities. 

State and local policy changes since 2019 have also given resort communities the tools and money needed to build more quickly. Many local governments, including Gunnison County, took advantage of House Bill 22-1117, which permitted the reallocation of revenue from marketing and lodging taxes to housing with voter approval. 

This year, $1 million in local marketing district taxes went to Gunnison’s new Sawtooth development. Proposition 123 permitted the state to hold money from existing state tax revenue to invest in affordable housing, making more than $200 million available annually statewide. 

The report’s creators hope it will help housing experts, many facing similar issues across state lines, learn from other communities’ mistakes and successes and figure out what will work best within their own towns. It details policies used to regulate the number of vacation rentals within the community, deed restriction programs for workers, housing funds as well as zoning and construction costs.

While housing market troubles span the country, it's in mountain towns that it’s reaching a crisis point, said Erin Ganser, who started as Crested Butte’s director of housing two years ago. The term “affordable housing” was rarely mentioned at the national level and now it’s become a buzzword everywhere, she said. 

“That is awesome, but we have so much work to do,” Ganser said. “The policy changes need to be at every local, state and regional level.” 

An economy on life support 

At roughly 30%, Gunnison County’s vacancy rate remains low compared to other Colorado resort towns. A home is labeled “vacant” if it is occupied by second homeowners or seasonal residents. Winter Park and Breckenridge have the highest rates, falling between 66-80%. In the Gunnison Valley, Mt. Crested Butte sat at 45%, Crested Butte neared 30% and the City of Gunnison fell at 9% — highlighted as one of the lowest in the region. 

In 2022, the Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners set a goal to build 300 new, affordable housing units by 2030. According to the report, 280 are in various stages of development.  

Rising construction costs and lingering supply chain issues have been a barrier to truly affordable housing locally and across the state. For example, in Aspen, the average cost to build a three-bedroom home exceeds $1 million. Gunnison County falls close to $500,000 — far above what most local families can afford. These markets often require some kind of subsidy or public-private partnership, said Northwest Colorado Council Executive Director Jon Stavney.

“Those numbers don’t work as affordable numbers,” Stavney said. 

Despite the financial barriers, more housing projects are in progress in the Gunnison Valley than ever before. As home prices rose, so too did the pace of housing projects at both ends of the valley. All of the affordable housing projects were collaborative, whether it was shared between local governments or with private developers. 

The county designed some projects, like Whetstone, to lose money in the short-term by keeping rents low. But in the future, a portion of the profits may subsidize new housing developments. The first phase of Sawtooth, paid nearly in-full by pandemic relief money, is now generating revenue for the second phase of construction.  

“That's momentum building for us,” said John Cattles, assistant county manager for operations and sustainability. “Instead of looking at little projects, and trying to plug holes, we've evolved … We're thinking long term, or generationally.” 

While the county has made progress, Cattles said it is not keeping up with the impacts of the rising cost of living and demand for more housing. To the north, Elk Avenue is riddled with vacant buildings, and “help wanted” signs. The school district and hospital still struggle to find and retain teachers, doctors and nurses. 

All of these are signs that the Gunnison Valley is “limping along,” Cattles said. The housing problems in the Gunnison-Crested Butte corridor, which has often been described as an island, are exacerbated due to its isolation. Communities like Breckenridge and Glenwood Springs sit along the I-70 corridor and can siphon commuters from the Front Range. 

“Our economy is on life support in a lot of ways,” Cattles said. 

All of the projects underway in the valley face significant hurdles from the moment the first plans are drafted, to final completion. The process is resource intensive for small communities, many of which have limited staff and resources to turn toward housing. 

But the region has an appetite to maintain the character of these communities and keep neighbors in their homes, Ganser said. For her, it is a passionate field to work in, and one way or another, projects will get done. 

“A friend of mine joked decades ago, when I first got into affordable housing, that housing developments are constantly recovering from a series of unrecoverable blows,” she said. “It's true. Every day, you think, ‘Okay, what's going to kill it today?’ Then you’ve just got to work around it.” 

(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)