A former Days Inn hotel in Silverthorne will now house 51 income-based housing units for Summit County residents after county officials completed a conversion of the property. A waitlist for the units is set to close at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 26.

The plans have been in the works for roughly a year as county leaders and the site’s owner hammered out a deal that will allow the county to lease the property through early 2025. It marks the third hotel in the county that officials have transformed into workforce housing. 

Officials entered a similar lease agreement with the Alpine Inn in Frisco in 2021 (which expires in 2024) and purchased the former LOGE hotel in Breckenridge, which it co-owns with the town as of last year. 

According to Housing Director Jason Dietz, the short-term leases allow the county to provide immediate housing to residents while more permanent projects are underway. 

“We know that there is a wide net of people out there that are in need of that type of housing, but we did design it to be flexible for the local workforce,” Dietz said. “There’s a lot of apartment units being built right now, so once they come online will the need be as great? I don’t know.”

Hundreds of income- and work-restricted units are set to be brought to the market in the coming years with the completion of government-sponsored housing projects including the final phase of the Village at Wintergreen in Keystone, a second Alta Verde development in Breckenridge and Smith Ranch apartments in Silverthorne. 

While the county’s most recent hotel conversion is temporary, with its lease expiring in January 2025, officials said it will provide a stopgap solution for residents amid a high need for housing. Even before the waitlist opened for the Day’s Inn location, Dietz said the county had more than 200 inquiries about it. 

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County officials could work out another deal with the property owner to extend the lease and keep the units available for longer, as was the case with the Frisco location — where officials have twice renewed their lease since 2021. 

The Day’s Inn site will offer a mix of floor plans including studios and one- to three-bedroom units to accommodate different family sizes. While the hotel originally had 73 units, some of those were consolidated to allow for different plans, Dietz said. 

“There’s not a lot of new rental inventory in the north end of the county … so our thought was if we can allow for more room types it could help more immediately than new construction,” said Commissioner Tamara Pogue. 

Rent prices will range from $900 to $2,300, depending on the unit size, according to Dietz. While residents working a minimum of 30 hours per week in the county and making up to 120% of the area median income will be eligible, officials said they will prioritize those making 100% and below. 

According to recently released federal data, 100% of the area median income translates to $77,600 for an individual and over $128,300 for a family of four. 

One-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as some studios will come with kitchens. For units without a kitchen, the building offers a communal cooking space along with other renovated areas. 

Of the 51 available units, eight will be set aside for certain organizations to rent, such as local businesses, nonprofits and the Summit School District. Those entities will incur the rent, officials said, allowing them to work out a separate payment deal with their employees. 

Leases will range from 90 days to 12 months, another way that officials said they hope to provide flexibility for different housing needs. 

“People will use it as transitional housing as they’re waiting for another lease or a home to open up,” Dietz said. “This is filling a gap.” 

Still, even as the county eyes longer-term housing projects, hotel conversions remain a crucial tool for official’s multipronged housing approach. According to Pogue, these types of partnerships are far less costly than new construction and allow the county to bring more workforce housing to the market faster. 

Between the three hotel properties, the county has spent an average of $5,000 to $8,000 to subsidize each room, according to county spokesperson Dave Rossi.

Pogue said Summit County is the first in Colorado to employ such a strategy and encouraged lodging property owners who may be interested to reach out. 

“We would certainly welcome conversations with them,” Pogue said. 

More information on the units, including how to apply for the waitlist can be found online at Bit.ly/3oh87gR.