One of Breckenridge’s largest-ever proposed developments could expand into more areas of town by having another parcel of land added to it.

At the Dec. 12 Breckenridge Town Council meeting, the developer of the Peak 8/ Gold Rush Lot Development, Breckenridge Grand Vacations, and town staff proposed the addition of a seventh parcel. 

This proposal followed concerns raised by Town Council at a previous work session regarding the location of the workforce housing parcel for the previously six-parcel development.

Council members were wary of accepting the proposed development of 92 workforce housing units on Park Avenue, which would have a total of 143 beds. Council members felt this many units in that busy area of town could lead to issues with safety and pedestrian traffic. Many council members advocated for some of these units to be moved to the “Entrada parcel” at the corner of Highway 9 and County Road 450. 

Breckenridge Planning Commission and town staff had previously raised concern over a handful of issues, mostly related to landscaping and snow stacking, on the Entrada site given its limited size. This site has a limitation of around 35,000 square feet of housing to develop on it.

Last council meeting, Breckenridge planning manager Chris Kulick told council he believed it would be in the best interest of the town to keep all of the proposed workforce housing on the Park Avenue site.

Despite previous staff concerns, staff and the developer came back and introduced the possibility of adding the Entrada parcel to the development and moving a portion of the housing there after hearing council’s qualms.  

Newly proposed programming keeps some of the workforce housing still on Park Avenue, with eight six-bedroom dorm units remaining on the site. This accounts for 48 beds.

While programming for the Entrada site has yet to be solidified, it is proposed to have studio units with anywhere for 60 to 80 beds. Staff told council this is likely to be on the lower end, probably around 66 units, given the development limitations on the Entrada site.

This new proposal cuts the amount of beds by 23-35 beds in comparison to the original proposal. This is again due to development constraints the Entrada site has.

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The Entrada parcel is located outside of Breckenridge’ town limits in unincorporated Summit County. The parcel will likely have to be annexed into the town for development. Breckenridge’s planning commission previously reviewed the possibility of this parcel being annexed and made plans to place it into one of the town’s land use districts. 

Chief executive officer of Breckenridge Grand Vacations, Mike Dudick, explained to council that the deed-restricted, dormitory-style units are proposed to cost $989 per month.  

Things look a little different pricing wise over at the proposed Entrada site, which is still considered workforce housing.

Some of the studio units on the Entrada site will have developer-provided density while other units will have Breckenridge-provided density. Both groups have a “density bank” that provides limitations on how much square footage they can develop. Breckenridge Grand Vacations would need to use some of Breckenridge’s density to develop on the Entrada lot as it does not have enough in its bank to do so in that location.

The developer-provided density units are requested by Breckenridge Grand Vacations to be limited to 100% Area Median Income, which is $1,940 per month.  The studio unit rentals that are Breckenridge-provided density are proposed to be limited to 60% Area Median Income, or $1,164 per month. 

Developers and staff noted that the developments and certificates of occupancy for the Entrada parcel will likely come before that of the Park Avenue parcel. 

In addition to presenting the town council with baseline rents, staff and the developer also presented with another rent-related proposal. 

“The initial rates are proposed to escalate at 2% annually until construction is complete, and after the project receives a certificate of occupancy, then rent will escalate at 3% annually in perpetuity thereafter,” Kuckilck told council. 

Planning manager for housing, Laurie Best, explained to council that this 3% would account for personnel and utility expenses rising over time. 

Although the council showed some hesitancy over pricing and the escalating rent rates, they understood it might need to remain.

“If we could drive down the rents on that, that’d be great,” Mayor Eric Mamula said. “But, we know how expensive this stuff is to build.”

Some council members wondered if there would be a need for that many dormitory-style units in Breckenridge. 

Council member Jeffrey Bergereon questioned Dudick “do you think these all will be in demand?” 

Dudick replied that he had no worries about filling the dormitory units and noted, “I think that there’ll be a line of people wanting to rent these.” 

Council members voiced appreciation for the addition of this seventh parcel as it takes away what could have been major congestion on Park Avenue. 

“I think it accomplishes what we were after and not overwhelming the Gold Rush lot… I feel more comfortable having less housing and creating less of an issue on the crossing of Park Ave,” Council member Carol Saade said.   

Council member Todd Rankin similarly showed support but wondered if just 48 beds on Park Avenue was enough. He noted he’d love to see the original proposal for 143 beds be met between the two parcels.

Council member Dick Carelton disagreed with some of the other council members concerns about the amount of beds being decreased.

“More — it’s not always better. It’s got to be quality housing,” Carelton said. “I’ve spent 40 years in the restaurant industry and have seen so many drug and alcohol challenges, mental health challenges, due to overcrowded housing.”