Next phase approved for Snowmass affordable housing project

A major rental workforce housing project proposed for Snowmass Village is proceeding to its next phase. 

Snowmass Town Council on Monday unanimously approved a preliminary plan application for the Draw Site, an effort to create 63 employee housing units uphill and adjacent to town hall. The latest estimate for the project is about $64.64 million.

The approval comes under the stipulation that town staff explore better blending the building into the landscape, incorporating hallway space into the bedroom units, making the balconies more transparent, and more.

In early April, the town decided to offer three opportunities for community feedback, including an online survey, a public comment form, and an opportunity to provide comments in person at Monday’s meeting, which drew in about 20 Snowmass residents. The survey itself received 158 responses with and two written comments also received by staff, with 85% of respondents expressing project support. 

“It’s a great plan,” Peter Waanders, president and CEO of Snowmass’ Anderson Ranch, said during Monday’s public comment. “We really need housing in town, and Anderson Ranch really needs housing. … I have two employees that occupy Snowmass Village employee housing. The other 38 of us commute to Snowmass.”

The original sketch plan for the Draw Site, which called for two 40-unit apartment complexes instead of the current 63 in one building, was approved by Snowmass Town Council in February 2024. The estimated cost back then for the project was $80 million.

Since then, Snowmass Town Council have wrangled over the aesthetics and size of the project. Meanwhile, public responses to the Draw Site’s current iteration questioned the interior and exterior elements of the site.

“I know how many iterations it’s gone through, but could the massing be massaged in any way?” Snowmass resident Jim Kehoe said during public comment on Monday.

The current housing design for the Draw Site includes a single, L-shaped building, while parking includes two stories accessible from each level, according to city documents. Surface parking has been added to accommodate visitors, deliveries, e-charging stations and overflow needs. 

There are also a total of 82 garage spots and 19 surface spaces, or 101 total parking spaces for 63 units. The Draw Site will offer four studios, 35 one-bedroom apartments, 16 two-bedroom units and eight eight three-bedroom apartments. This totals 95 beds for Snowmass Village workers and their children.

The estimated monthly rental cost (not including utilities) for a studio apartment in the Draw Site complex is between $1,145 and $1,445, according to a recent press release. A one-bedroom would cost between $1,435 and $1,735, a two bedroom would cost between $1,650 and $1,910, and a three bedroom would cost between $2,110 and $2,660.

The Draw Site is part of the town’s comprehensive plan, which has identified a need for 383 additional workforce housing units to meet demand identified in 2018, before the dramatic market changes initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The Town currently has 280 Village employees on our waiting list for our 300 rental apartments, representing a wide variety of workforce and family types,” city documents state. “The Council has consistently named creating new affordable housing as one of its top priorities and set a goal in 2025 to create 185 new units for people working in our Village.”

Funding for the Draw Site includes setting aside $3 million per year from city lodging/sales tax revenue to pay back a bond, while using revenue from collected rent, according to Housing Director Betsy Crum said. She also said the town is aiming to close in an $8 million funding gap through a private partnership.

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Ray K. Erku can be reached at (970) 429-9120 or rerku@aspentimes.com.