Snowmass explores ‘development neutral’ workforce housing opportunities

The town of Snowmass Village will join several municipalities and businesses in the Roaring Fork Valley in purchasing deed-restricted units in a Glenwood Springs apartment building to give first priority to Snowmass employees looking to purchase an affordable unit.

Habitat for Humanity is converting an 88-unit apartment complex in Glenwood Springs into deed-restricted condominiums and is looking for 35 community partners to buy into the project, giving those partners priority for their employees to move in. It is a part of Habitat for Humanity’s effort to build partners and fill funding gaps in affordable housing in the valley, and gives Snowmass the opportunity to expand its housing stock without developing more units.

“This is an entry point for people who work in our communities to start to stabilize and be able to purchase and own a deed-restricted property,” said Habitat for Humanity President Gail Schwartz during a Monday Snowmass Town Council meeting.

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Snowmass is in the middle of a planned unit development process for the Draw Site, its first workforce housing rental development in 25 years. Council members have been torn on the scale of the development, and have discussed ways to add more affordable housing to the town’s stock without having to develop so much.

Of the existing 88 units, 35 of them will be given to partners who purchase priority. Priority for a single unit is $150,000, and community partners like the city of Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork School District have already expressed interest and offered up to $3 million for the project. 

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The $150,000 or more community partner contributions goes toward a mortgage pool with lower interest rates, down payment assistance, and other programs aimed at providing stable housing for the workforce. 

The building was built two years ago, and 53 units are currently rented out. The renters in those units will be given the opportunity to purchase their units if they meet the deed restriction qualifications. If they don’t wish to purchase or don’t meet the qualifications, they will be able to move into other existing apartment units in Glenwood Springs, Schwartz said.

The program will be available for homeowners who make 80-150% of the area median income. Its priority is to offer as close to zero money down as possible to make purchasing a free-market unit in the future more attainable, Schwartz said. Because all the units are studio and one-bedroom units, the program can act as a starting point for new homeowners in the area who will be able to gain equity and potentially translate it into a free-market home.

“These are the opportunities that people deserve in our communities, so we’re taking care of those people that serve us and providing those opportunities,” she said. “I think you probably know that you guys have workers that commute here (to Snowmass) every day from Glenwood Springs and beyond.”

Snowmass Town Council did not approve a purchase of priority during its Monday meeting, but signaled it would be interested in purchasing two or three units for priority. Town Manager Clint Kinney said the town could use funds generated by the tourism tax to facilitate the purchase. 

In 2022, Snowmass voters approved the allocation of a portion of tourism tax dollars to fund affordable housing projects. The town generates about $6 million per year under the affordable housing allocation of the tax, Kinney said.

Schwartz said Snowmass will “always be able to count on someone from your workforce being able to live there and own their home.” If someone who works for Snowmass and lives in one of the units stops working for Snowmass, they will not lose their housing and the town will not lose its priority. The next available unit will be prioritized for a Snowmass municipal employee.

Schwartz estimated that six units would turn over each year. If the town decides in the future that it does not need the units for its employees, it can sell the priority to another business or municipality.

Habitat For Humanity will spend the rest of the year converting the units to condominiums and working to qualify families and individuals for mortgages in the units.

“This is a unique opportunity to take these properties and convert to condominiums without even putting a shovel into the ground,” Schwartz said. “All we’re going to do is change the locks.”