Summit County is poised to see hundreds of new workforce housing units opening in the next two years, so long as multiple efforts remain on track. 

Currently, 489 income-based homes, most as rentals with some expected to be offered for sale, are being constructed across six projects throughout the county. Local leaders say the new construction is one of many strategies aimed at combating the lack of affordable housing in the high-cost county. 

“I don’t think we’re ever going to ‘solve’ Summit County’s housing problem,” said Commissioner Tamara Pogue. “But we all have plans in place to create a number of units. For the residents in Summit County who are struggling to find housing, it should get easier.”

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As developments move forward, with some expected to be completed as soon as early 2024, officials continue to stare down a major deficit of housing for low- and middle-income earners. 

A 2023 study by Root Policy Research found the county should add more than 2,500 new income-based units by 2028 to meet the needs of its workforce. That’s in addition to the roughly 1,350 units already planned to be built within that same time, showing how the goal for affordable housing remains an ever-moving target. 

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“We’ve got to just keep the pedal to the metal,” said Laurie Best, housing and child care manager for the town of Breckenridge. “As we add additional units, sure, we are getting a lot more of our workforce in suitable and affordable housing. But we’re going to continue to be dealing with this issue in the future.”

Here’s a look at what’s currently being built in Summit County. 

Breckenridge

Nearly 300 units are under construction in Breckenridge across three separate developments. 

Alta Verde 2, the largest of the three, is the second phase of the initial Alta Verde project, which brought 80 rental units when it opened in late 2022. The second development will bring 172 rental units to the same site, located near the intersection of Colorado Highway 9 and Stan Miller Drive in north Breckenridge. 

Construction cost is estimated to be around $79 million.

Like its predecessor, the development will be available only to residents working a minimum of 30 hours per week in the county and falling within a certain income range. Residents making between 80% and 120% of the area median income, generally considered the midpoint of the county’s income distribution, will be eligible for studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. 

That represents a higher income spectrum than the first phase, which targeted residents at median incomes as low as 30%. 

“We’re trying to provide housing for folks whether they’re earning an hourly wage, a salary, seasonal jobs, year-round jobs,” said Kimball Crangle, Colorado market president for Gorman & Co., the project’s developer. 

“By having that spectrum of income, what we’re really trying to accomplish is having a housing destination for folks wherever they are on the income spectrum,” Crangle said, adding that construction is expected to be completed by summer 2024. 

The Justice Center, a joint project between the Breckenridge and Summit County government, will house 52 rental units aimed at residents making between 70% and 100% of area median income. It is being built on county-owned property near the Summit County Justice Center building on Airport Road, just outside Breckenridge’s town boundary. 

Unlike other ongoing housing developments in the county, this project consists of separate buildings that are manufactured in a factory and then assembled like puzzle pieces on-site. The approach has allowed its timeline to move much faster than a traditional build, with officials estimating it has saved between eight to nine months of construction time. 

It’s also kept construction costs lower, with the site’s total price tag coming in at around $22 million — as low as a third of the cost for other similar-sized developments.

It is expected to open by summer 2024. 

Finally, the Stables Village development will bring 61 for-sale units divided between single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes. Expected to open in phases beginning in 2024 and running through 2026, the development will sit adjacent to the Wellington and Lincoln Park neighborhoods in downtown Breckenridge. 

The project’s cost sits around $57 million.

The targeted median income range for the project will be between 80% and 140%, which, according to Best, will translate to sale prices of just under $400,000 to $700,000. 

“Right now, we just don’t have that for-sale inventory at that price point,” she said. 

Frisco 

Granite Park, a joint effort between the Frisco town government and the Colorado Department of Transportation, broke ground in May and is expected to be completed by late 2024. 

When finished, the 22-unit site, located near the east end of Frisco’s Main Street, will house studio, one- and two-bedroom units for rent. Half will be reserved for CDOT employees, while the rest will be available for employees of Frisco-area businesses. 

The units are expected to target residents making less than 100% of the area median income. The town is sharing the cost of the project with CDOT and signed-off on a maximum price of about $12.28 million.

Speaking during the project’s groundbreaking on May 16, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew framed the project as one that was vital to maintaining the daily operations the region relies on. 

“The stretch of I-70 that runs through Summit County is so critical to tourism and economic vitality,” Lew said. “And really, trying to keep people no more than 30 minutes from where they need to be in the line of duty, particularly in a snowstorm, is no small feat in a place like Summit County.”

Silverthorne

The Silverthorne Town Council approved the construction of the 135-unit Smith Ranch Apartments earlier this year, which broke ground in May and is set to open in early 2025. It is being developed by Gorman & Co. 

An extension of the already completed Smith Ranch neighborhood, which consists of 214 deed-restricted homes, the apartments help fill a critical need for lower-cost rental units, said Silverthorne housing manager Lina Lesmes.

“For a long time, Silverthorne has been sort of the service provider end of the county, and that is why there’s been naturally existing affordable housing,” Lesmes said. 

The town has historically managed to have far more of its housing occupied by full-time residents compared to other parts of the county. According to Lesmes, Silverthorne has maintained local occupancy for about 65% to 70% of its housing, an inverse of the countywide statistic that shows roughly two-thirds of its housing stock sits vacant several months of the year. 

But the market rate in Silverthorne has shifted over time, with newer neighborhoods such as Eagle’s Nest and Summit Sky Ranch seeing home prices that reach into the millions. And now, the town’s local owner occupancy rate has begun to go down, Lesmes said.

Seeking to reverse that trend, Lesmes said the town will need projects like the Smith Ranch apartments, which will target residents making between 30% and 120% of the area median income. Construction is projected to cost around $63 million.

Keystone

In Keystone, the final phase of the Village at Wintergreen is set to be completed by 2025.

At 47 units, the project, dubbed Wintergreen Ridge, will finish the job Summit County officials began in 2018 when construction began on what would become 196 income-capped rental units. 

Commissioners gave final approval to Wintergreen Ridge in January, paving the way for the site to see a total of 243 apartments. While Wintergreen’s first phase was priced for residents making up to 100% of the median income, its second installment will offer units for residents making between 30% and 60%. It is also being developed by Gorman and is estimated to cost around $24 million.

The impact of local ‘political will’

Crangle, the Gorman market president, said the developer’s projects in Keystone, Silverthorne and Breckenridge may not have been possible without the “political will” of county leaders and voters.

With the approval of Ballot Measure 5A in 2006, and with its renewal in 2015, county voters approved millions of dollars for a dedicated tax fund for affordable housing measures, part of which helped fund the three Gorman projects, among others. The company also avoided having to pay fees for the land in Breckenridge, Silverthorne and Keystone thanks to land leases from the two councils and Vail Resorts for each respective project, according to Crangle. 

It’s helped make construction viable, as developers typically take out a construction mortgage to fund projects which can only be paid back after the site starts generating revenue. The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit has also been a major support for Gorman’s projects, Crangle said, though it only funds housing aimed at the lowest income levels. 

According to Crangle, the tax credit helped pay for roughly half the cost to develop the Smith Ranch apartment for units aimed at 30% to 60% of the median income as well as half the cost for Wintergreen Ridge. Other funds came from local governments, the state and construction mortgages. 

As interest rates raise those mortgage payments, coupled with stubborn inflation, Crangle said the cost of building housing that can offer below-market rate rents is likely to remain high. 

“It’s why it’s so critical to have jurisdictional involvement and support for the projects,” she said. 

Waitlists for the three Gorman-led projects are likely to open about three months before the projects’ completion dates, Crangle said.

Is building units enough? 

With nearly 500 units under construction, and hundreds more set to move through the pipeline in the coming years, local officials said they are also focusing on other strategies to mitigate what they’ve called a workforce housing crisis. 

Development alone isn’t a panacea, and some housing leaders said without strict guardrails to ensure affordability, such products would fall to the market rate. 

“Summit County is not a broken market, but a market driven by outside influences,” said Best, the Breckenridge housing manager. “There’s an insatiable demand to live up here from people outside the community, so if you don’t restrict that density to the locals, the locals won’t be able to afford to live there.”

Increasing housing density, hailed by some housing advocates as a surefire remedy to bring down market costs, may not work in the High Country in the same way it might in metro Front Range areas, added Lesmes, the Silverthorne housing manager. 

“I think that we have to be really careful with thinking that just adding blanket density is going to increase workforce housing,” Lesmes said. 

It’s why officials said they are pursuing multiple initiatives. Those include a subsidy program for accessory dwelling units, down payment assistance for homebuyers and regulations on short-term rentals to preserve existing housing inventory. 

“We’ve looked at every major strategy we possibly could to try and move the needle here,” said Pogue, the county commissioner. “There is not a strategy that we have not put on the table.”