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Snowmass workers support major employee housing plan

Owners, managers and employees from five Snowmass businesses agree 79-unit Draw Site would be ‘huge for the local businesses here’

Rock Island Owner and Executive Chef Jake Burkhardt discusses the new employee housing plan.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale/The Aspen Times

Several Snowmass workers gave their support for an ongoing proposal to build an $86 million workforce housing project that could include up to 79 units. Called the Draw Site, its budget will be voted on by residents in the November election. 

Snowmass Village currently houses approximately half of its 2,000 employees in workforce housing, according to the 2023 Community Profile released by the town. The town has a goal of creating 185 new affordable housing units by the end of the decade and strives to meet 60% of workforce housing needs with town-controlled housing.

“With more housing available, that would be huge for the local businesses here in Snowmass,” said Jake Burkhardt, owner and executive chef of Rock Island Oyster Bar and grill.



Burkhardt said it’s challenging to hire quality employees from outside of the state, given the difficulty finding and affording housing in Snowmass Village. Apart from a few affordable housing units his employees live in at Burlingame Ranch, he said the restaurant is not usually able to help secure housing for people moving to town. 

“Anybody, mostly that’s coming in from out of state or out of town that wants to relocate here, one of their first things they ask is, are we able to provide housing for them?” he said. “And because we are not, that usually changes their decision to move to the valley.”




In Snowmass Village, the median unsubsidized cost for a two-bedroom rental was $7,475 in 2023, according to a study commissioned by the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition. 

Burkhardt said the high rental costs in the village pushed people downvalley, sometimes all the way to Glenwood Springs. 

“It’s pushed a lot of my staff to have to commute an hour and a half each way every day,” he said.

Eye Pieces Manager Matt Swanson said when he hires, people sometimes don’t accept job offers because of the difficulty with finding close, affordable housing.

“I think that anything for as far as employee housing goes in resort towns is the answer for the future to maintain the highest level of guest experience,” Swanson said. 

Jüs Snowmass Supervisor Trinidad Rabago said she lives in Carbondale and has to commute to and from Snowmass everyday. 

“I’ve been trying for three years to find something closer to here,” she said. She’s 114th on the list for her affordable housing application, she added.

Trinidad Rabago talks about her difficulty finding housing in Snowmass.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale/The Aspen Times

The new housing would be built at the Draw Site, adjacent and uphill of Snowmass Town Hall. It is planned to contain 49 one-bedroom units, 21 two-bedroom units, and nine three-bedroom units, costing $1,400, $2,000 and $2,600 respectively.

Coming up with the initial money to move into a non-subsidized house in Snowmass can be challenging, said Michael Torres, Limelight Snowmass Guest Services agent. 

“I had to move home for a year just to get my funds up to be able to afford living out here, and I’m fortunate that I even have a home to go home to in order to do that,” he said. “A lot of people don’t have that option. So it definitely makes it hard.”

The new units would also provide many amenities for employees, such as a private balcony, on-site storage, bike stations, a courtyard, and covered parking. Some of the current affordable housing options would be hard to live in, Torres said. 

Michael Torres said he needed to move home to save before moving into Snowmass — not something everyone can do.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale/The Aspen Times

“I think the Aspen, Snowmass area in general lacks good units for workers. I think the only units we really do have are very gross and sketchy,” he said. “And (the units) don’t look accommodating to new people trying to move into the valley.” 

The existing affordable units can also be challenging for families to live in, said a 35-year-old employee of a Snowmass business, who chose to remain anonymous. She and her husband and their 12 year old lived alongside partying 21 and 22 year olds for six months because that was the best affordable option they found at the time, she said.

The employee housing that does exist is in such high demand, spaces rarely vacate, Alux Spalon cosmetologist Jaqueline Farias said.

“Once you’re in it, people don’t leave,” she said. “So then people never can get in.”