BRECKENRIDGE — Breckenridge Town Council on Wednesday gave a thumbs up to Breckenridge Studios, a new housing project that would create “micro studio units” in town. David O’Neil, president of Traditional Neighborhood Builders, submitted a letter of intent to the town to build 18 250-square-foot units for local employees who earn $15-$18 per hour. 

O’Neil’s name might sound familiar as he was also the founder of Breckenridge’s Wellington Neighborhood and Frisco’s Peak One Neighborhood. The project is proposed to be built on the land at the southern entrance to the Breckenridge Recreation Center next to two privately owned townhomes and backing up to the Kingdom Park Court mobile home park.

Breckenridge plans to hire Traditional Neighborhood Builders to design and build the project, and then the town would own and manage the units. Breckenridge will pay the cost of the project, which is estimated to be about $1.6 million, in addition to a 10% fee — not to exceed $150,000 — to Traditional Neighborhood Builders.

An apartment unit within the project will feature a loft bed above the bathroom that is accessible by a sliding ladder. Storage space will be integrated into the units, and each unit will have a kitchen. The cost of the units for renters is planned to be $500-$600 per month. Parking would be mainly shared with the southern edge of the recreation center. 

“For me, this is a perfect opportunity because it’s an infill lot,” council member Dick Carleton said. “I mean, this is 0.1 acres. It’s great utilization of an infill lot, shared parking. We’re not putting any more asphalt down.”

Council member Erin Gigliello requested that a laundry facility be built on-site even if that means giving up one of the units. Council member Jeffrey Bergeron said that for affordable units like these, he’d rather keep a unit and doesn’t think it would be too much of an inconvenience for a tenant to bring their laundry into an in-town facility. Mayor Eric Mamula said this piece could be discussed later in the planning process.

Traditional Neighborhood Builders plans to start groundwork by Nov. 1. The project has a projected completion date in early spring 2021.

With the town housing committee and council on board, Town Manager Rick Holman will sign a letter of intent, and the town will move forward with writing a contract with Traditional Neighborhood Builders.