#Breckenridge Colorado
| Elise Reuter / ereuter@summitdaily.com |
Summit Daily News Link
The finishing touches — fresh paint and carpet — are going into Breckenridge’s most recent affordable housing venture. Pinewood Village II will have a few similarities with its predecessor, but will focus on one-bedroom and studio apartments, appealing to a slightly younger demographic.
“This hits one of the bigger groups in terms of that critical need,” Summit County Commissioner Thomas Davidson said.
According to a 2013 housing needs study, in the Upper Blue River Basin alone, between 200 and 370 rental units would be needed by 2017, in addition to 280 ownership units. The 45 units will all be restricted to residents earning 60 percent of the annual median income (AMI) or lower.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity for people to get out of crowded roommate situations, and have their own place. Maybe their first own place,” Breckenridge planner Laurie Best said. “It will certainly help a segment of the workforce.”
While the apartments are set to open as early as July, with applications accepted starting in early May, it has been long in the making.
Eric Komppa, vice president of investments for Corum Real Estate and one of the developers of the project, estimated they started work on the project 15 years ago, a few years after Pinewood Village Apartments were completed in 1997.
“The town was getting land from the Forest Service,” he recalled. “This is what we were able to pull in.”
Best described the 2.9-acre parcel at 837 Airport Road as a “funny little enclave,” which the town obtained from the Forest Service through a land exchange in 2012. While other environmentally sensitive parcels were exchanged as open space, the future location of Pinewood II was the exception, and was marked as a good location for workforce housing with close access to public transit. With the assistance of federal low-income housing tax credits, the town was able to gain assistance in funding the project, estimated at $10 million.
“That was critical to the financing of this,” Best added.
Tuesday’s tour of the complex showed that the models feature two different one-bedroom layouts, and a studio, each equipped with a washer and dryer in-unit, a storage cabinet located in the hallway, a walk-in closet, balconies or patios and an electric kitchen.
“It’s ahead of schedule and on budget,” said co-developer Tim Casey of Mountain Marketing Associates, LTD. “Thanks to the town’s and county’s leadership and insight, and the desire to create a sustainable community, we’re here.”
Casey added that former town manager Tim Gagen and Mayor John Warner work hard to lead the project, acquire the needed land and negotiate the business deal for the building to be constructed.
“They made this thing happen,” he said. “I really am proud of what our community’s done.”
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
