Edwards housing complex for sale

Funding is biggest hurdle in building more affordable homes, county officials say

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Matt Terrell
Vail correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
March 28, 2008

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EDWARDS, Colo. — Eagle County intends to sell Lake Creek Village, an affordable housing community in Edwards, and use the sale revenue to build new low-cost housing developments that are more affordable for families.

Selling Lake Creek would give the county “seed money” to start aggressively building affordable housing without new taxes, county officials say.

Lake Creek, which has 270 deed-restricted homes, is an asset already owned by the county, and the county is now soliciting bids from potential buyers.

Homes in Lake Creek, because they’re deed-restricted, would remain low-rent residences after the sale, and the county would have money to buy land, partner with developers — whatever is needed to put more affordable homes on the market, officials say.

It would be one of the most significant steps the county has taken in addressing the affordable housing shortage, said county Commissioner Arn Menconi.

“One of the biggest hurdles with affordable housing is finding the dollars — we don’t want to do it by raising property taxes, and we don’t want to do it by condemning property, but this is exactly what we’re looking for,” Menconi said.

The county’s goal is to build at least one major affordable housing community in each
Eagle County town along Interstate 70 in the next 10 years, County Manager Bruce Baumgartner said.

In January, commissioners invested $4.5 million in Stratton Flats, a future development that would bring 226 deed restricted homes to Gypsum. Officials say the county will consider partnering with developers for another Stratton Flats-like development.

The county may buy land for more housing, buy free-market homes that would be resold at more affordable prices, and look for new ideas that haven’t been tried yet, officials said.

It’s possible that other housing developments could be sold, much like Lake Creek, in effect renewing the stream of money for more affordable housing years later, County Housing Director Alex Potente said.

“It just opens up the doors for more out-of-the-box-type thinking to address the well-known, well-documented shortfalls we have in the community,” Commissioner Sara Fisher said.

Fisher sees opportunities for a wide variety of affordable housing, including assisted-living communities and other types of housing for seniors.

“It’s (housing) the number one issue that faces Eagle County as this point in time, so it’s a golden opportunity to give us the capital we need to invest in other assets to help the community,” Fisher said.

For now, the county is waiting for an acceptable bid on Lake Creek.

Eagle County, home to Vail and Beaver Creek, is grappling with the shortage of affordable worker housing that is typical of resort areas, including Aspen and Pitkin County.

mterrell@vaildaily.com