Affordable housing move-in issues prompt Breckenridge officials to urge property manager to take action
At the end of last week, Breckenridge officials urged the property management company for Vista Verde II to take action after prospective residents of the affordable housing development shared frustrations over the manager’s handling of the move-in process.
Applicants of the workforce housing project in Breckenridge have reported last-minute changes that impacted their ability to move into their units, which caused folks to withdraw their applications since rent prices changed as they were preparing to move in. Since some applicants ended their previous leases after they were approved for income-based units at Vista Verde II, they found themselves scrambling to find a temporary housing solution.
Vista Verde II is the second phase of the Vista Verde workforce housing development managed by Gorman & Co., which oversees multiple affordable housing properties in Summit County. The project features 172 units, around half of which are for people that make 80% of the area median income or less.
While multiple residents received emails that detailed rent and security deposit amounts and said they were “approved for the apartment,” they were notified that their incomes, which they provided to show eligibility for the deed-restricted units, were reviewed by the property manager, causing changes to the prices they were expecting to pay. The evaluations led to some being taken out of the 80% area median income bracket, disqualifying them from the deed-restricted unit they had been planning to move into. Applicants said they were then offered a unit with significantly higher rent they couldn’t afford.
Amid Vista Verde II lottery winners publicly voicing concern, the town of Breckenridge sent the Summit Daily a statement on Oct. 2 saying they were “aware of the issues with the lease up process” for the development. The town said a representative contacted the property manager to determine how the issues could be addressed.
“We have been in contact with the Summit Combined Housing Authority who are also concerned about the lease up issues and are assisting the Town,” the town’s statement said. “The Town is frustrated and disappointed in how this has been handled and how it has affected our local workforce.”
The town followed up with another statement on Oct. 3 saying town staff members met with the property manager and “believe they are communicating directly with individuals who experienced issues with lease up over the last few days.”
Gorman & Co. hasn’t responded to numerous requests for comment.
Left in limbo
Kelly Larson, a local bus driver, said she was relieved to find affordable housing in Summit after she was notified that she won the lottery that was used to fill apartments at the Vista Verde II development in Breckenridge.
She claims she was told, during an Aug. 26 meeting with Gorman & Co., that she was eligible for the unit.
Emails verified by the Summit Daily show she was told by Gorman & Co. she was given a move-in date of Sept. 27. The email showed her move-in costs — that included a security deposit, pet deposit and prorated rent for the month of September — would total $1,675. The email said they would be in touch once it went through compliance.
Shortly before her move-in day, she received communications from Gorman & Co. informing her she was going to be placed in a different area median income bracket based on her income. The company told her she no longer fell into the 80% area median income bracket because they felt she was on track to earn $73,000, according to emails obtained by Summit Daily News.
“I don’t make that, so it was a really big headache,” she said.
She claims the management company told her that since she has the ability to — and sometimes does —work overtime, which she said she only does on occasion, she could no longer be approved for the $1,750 a month unit.
Gorman and Co. then offered her options for units at the 120% area median income level. Emails provided to Summit Daily show Larson was given two housing options by the management company with rents of $2,440 or $2,890 a month.
She was offered the ability to get a roommate for the more expensive unit, but Larson said she was told that only one parking space was provided with the lease. She said she was given the option to have a garage for the roommate to store their car and that it would cost another $200 a month. Emails show that this option was given to her three days before she could move in. She said she couldn’t find anyone to split the apartment with and that it would have been too great of a cost to cover herself, so she pulled her application.
Larson had ended her previous lease at this point since she expected to have housing. Faced with a situation where her housing plans fell through, a friend set her up with a living situation so that she could have a place to sleep.
Summit-local Ben Michael said his experience mirrored that of Larson’s.
Michael, another lottery winner for the Vista Verde II development, was approved to move into an apartment with a $1,750 monthly rent, emails provided to the Summit Daily show. The email outlined a move-in the day of Oct.1, so Michael told his then-landlord he wouldn’t be resigning his lease.
He said he showed up to the complex’s front office first with all the materials he was told to bring. That’s when, he said, he was told his income was reevaluated. He claims he was told that he now fell into a higher income bracket and was offered a two-bedroom, one-bath unit for $2,890. After expressing he couldn’t afford that, he said Gorman & Co. offered a one-bedroom unit with a monthly rent in the ballpark of $2,200 in the Wintergreen housing complex in Keystone.
He reached out to the Summit Combined Housing Authority, and they have been advocating for him throughout the process. He was also able to find a temporary living situation.
Gabby Blassou and Josh Walker, also lottery winners, said they were originally placed into the 80% of area median income bracket. Emails verified by the Summit Daily demonstrate the pair had a confirmed move in date of Oct. 2 for a unit with a $1,981 monthly rent. Blassou ended her lease and planned to stay at Walker’s apartment a few days before moving in.
Walker is currently a full-time student at Colorado Mountain College and works one day a week while Blassou works full time.
Ahead of moving in and after hearing other stories of other lottery winners’ income being reprocessed, Blassou checked in with the workers at the complex’s front desk. She was verbally told their income was also reprocessed and that they may now have to be placed in the 120% area median income bracket because of Walker’s work. Walker is a barista, a job that can include tips, and one where people can ask coworkers to cover shifts they can’t make.
Blassou said she was thinking “is this a scam? We’re either going to be paying this price or we’re going to have to skyrocket to this price, which is unaffordable for both of us.”
Blassou said they were verbally offered a room with a monthly rent in the ballpark of $2,800.
She made a post to Facebook on Oct. 2 to express her frustration with the management company. A few hours after posting, she said, Gorman & Co. called and said they decided the couple did still fit into the 80% area median income bracket.
Blassou was able to pick up the keys and began moving into an apartment with a rent she could afford the next day.
The move-in issues come two months after Gorman & Co. had to push back its move-in date at Wintergreen Ridge.
Applicants were told the housing development, which was set to open this summer may not be ready for move-in until December, forcing some to seek temporary shelter. Gorman & Co. representatives said a failed fire suppression test caused the company to push its move-in date.
At the time the company’s Colorado market president, Kimball Crangle, told the Summit Daily News applicants who secured a spot at Wintergreen that needed housing sooner than December would have the option to apply to Vista Verde II.
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