Vail hires new housing director from Summit County
Jason Dietz joins the town from Summit County where he served as its director of housing
Town of Vail/Courtesy photo
The town of Vail this week announced it has hired Jason Dietz as its next housing director. Dietz will take over the position from George Ruther, who announced his retirement last November after nearly 30 years with the town.
Dietz has over 25 years of experience in housing development, construction, land acquisitions and property management. He moved to Summit County in 2012 and worked in the private sector before becoming the executive director of the Summit Combined Housing Authority. Most recently, Dietz served as the Director of Housing for Summit County.
In this position, he oversaw the expansion of the recently formed Housing Department, which included projects and programs ranging from new development and the preservation of existing housing stock to adaptive reuse and the streamlining of codes and housing policies.
While in Summit County, he also spearheaded a partnership with the White River National Forest, resulting in a first-in-the-nation land lease for an affordable housing development on U.S. Forest Service administrative land. The project will create 162 deed-restricted, income-based rental homes.
“Jason’s track record in creating and protecting homes for locals in a mountain resort community, as well as his understanding of private sector development, will translate perfectly to our needs in Vail,” said Town Manager Russell Forrest. “He’s the right person to help to us continue our momentum and move our ambitious housing goals forward.”
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Before moving to Colorado, Dietz worked in Arizona and Nevada developing residential real estate. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, paddle boarding, mountain biking and being outdoors.
The appointment at the town of Vail will make Dietz only its second director of housing.
Ruther’s tenure with the town began in 1994 when he was hired as a planner in its community development department. In 2011, he succeeded current Town Manager Forrest as the department’s director, assuming the final planning and development phases of Vail’s billion-dollar public-private renewal of its village cores. Ruther was appointed to lead a new housing department in 2018, reviving the Vail Local Housing Authority and its partnership with the Town Council.
