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“Impressive,” was the word Colorado Department of Local Affairs director Reeves Brown kept repeating after his Wednesday morning tour of Valley Brook, Breckenridge's newest affordable housing development.
“It's incredibly impressive that the town partnership has been able to make that quality of housing and that quality of a community that affordable in a community like Breckenridge,” Brown said following the tour. “It's very impressive in every respect: the affordability, the sense of community, the economic injection they've made.”
The state Department of Local Affairs, a unique entity in Colorado among the 50 states, made a million-dollar contribution to the infrastructure work, such as sewage and water, which helped make the development possible.
The local affairs department is intended to act as a liaison between municipalities, such as counties and towns, and the state government, consolidating property tax collection offices, grant distribution and other functions into one department.
Brown, who visits the eight Colorado regions biannually, said he discussed potential future projects for additional workforce housing developments with officials while in Breckenridge, but no formal requests or proposals were made.
“In Breckenridge, like so many mountain communities, they deal with very unique issues related to affordable housing,” Brown said. “It's a perennial challenge to provide safe and affordable housing and the basic infrastructure that makes this community great. I think they've done a tremendous job of laying out a vision for how to address that perennial challenge and working with the private sector to bring about solutions to serve the community.”
The Valley Brook development, now in the third phase of construction and with the majority of the units under contract, has come under scrutiny from some sectors of the community with the changes in the housing market in recent years. The shift in public sentiment has prompted the Breckenridge Town Council to indicate a possible interest in backing away from future affordable housing developments, at least for the time being.
“It's incredibly impressive that the town partnership has been able to make that quality of housing and that quality of a community that affordable in a community like Breckenridge,” Brown said following the tour. “It's very impressive in every respect: the affordability, the sense of community, the economic injection they've made.”
The state Department of Local Affairs, a unique entity in Colorado among the 50 states, made a million-dollar contribution to the infrastructure work, such as sewage and water, which helped make the development possible.
The local affairs department is intended to act as a liaison between municipalities, such as counties and towns, and the state government, consolidating property tax collection offices, grant distribution and other functions into one department.
Brown, who visits the eight Colorado regions biannually, said he discussed potential future projects for additional workforce housing developments with officials while in Breckenridge, but no formal requests or proposals were made.
“In Breckenridge, like so many mountain communities, they deal with very unique issues related to affordable housing,” Brown said. “It's a perennial challenge to provide safe and affordable housing and the basic infrastructure that makes this community great. I think they've done a tremendous job of laying out a vision for how to address that perennial challenge and working with the private sector to bring about solutions to serve the community.”
The Valley Brook development, now in the third phase of construction and with the majority of the units under contract, has come under scrutiny from some sectors of the community with the changes in the housing market in recent years. The shift in public sentiment has prompted the Breckenridge Town Council to indicate a possible interest in backing away from future affordable housing developments, at least for the time being.
