Vail’s West Middle Creek is on track to bring 268 deed-restricted units by 2027

The town of Vail’s West Middle Creek housing project continues to move through the entitlement process, inching toward completion in 2027.

Vail began seriously looking at the site in 2022 when it ultimately rezoned it from natural area preservation to accommodate future housing development. The parcel is located on the north side of Interstate 70 between the Middle Creek Village Apartments and the Solar Vail Apartments.

Since then, it has acquired additional land from the Colorado Department of Transportation to maximize the housing opportunity, contracted with Corum Real Estate Group for pre-development design and entitlement, subdivided the property, completed the rezoning and began the entitlement process.

The project has had multiple hearings before both Vail’s Planning and Environmental Commission and Design Review Board and is still pending final approval from both.  

According to Vail Housing Director George Ruther at the Tuesday, June 4, Vail Town Council meeting, the project will be going back to the commission with a mobility plan as well as an environmental impact report.

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West Middle Creek has had six hearings with the Design Review Board, the most recent of which was on Wednesday, June 5. At that meeting, the project was continued to the board’s next meeting on June 19. While the project works toward approval, Molly Egan, one of the DRB members, noted that the general direction of the design was good.

A “good portion” of the initial design work has been largely “resolving the less sexy issues of designing a project like this,” Ruther said, listing emergency vehicle access, snow storage, (and) logistical and operational needs among these issues.

“We’ve taken what were requirements and turned them into actual ‘amenitized’ spaces on the site,” Ruther said.

Pending these approvals, the project is on schedule to begin its initial excavation and site work in the fall. Following the horizontal infrastructure work, the vertical construction is expected to begin in spring 2025, tracking toward the first building opening in the third quarter of 2027, said Eric Komppa, the president of the Corum Real Estate Group, last week.

The current design contemplates a three-building rental development with 268 units and a total of 424 bedrooms — all of which will be deed-restricted. The buildings would contain a mix of 84 studios, 100 one-bedroom and 48 two-bedroom units. The westernmost building — and 36 “co-living apartments” with 144 beds — is expected to be entirely master leased.

If the project stays on schedule, Komppa said the first, easternmost building with approximately 115 units would be the first to open in the third quarter of 2027. The second, master leased building would be the next to open to deliver it before ski season, he added. The final, middle building with 117 units would be the final to open, approximately four months after the first building’s completion.

The project contemplates 257 parking spaces, which is a little less than one spot per unit on the entire project, and around 1.1 spaces per unit when the master leased units are not included, reported Jesse Adkins, the project’s architect from Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects.

Amenity-wise, the development is expected to have outdoor space, its own bus stop, lobbies, storage space, co-working space, a fitness center and more.

According to Komppa, it is currently pegging for rent to have units subsets for 80% average median income, 100% AMI, 120% and 140% — which “blends down to an average of 110% AMI.”

On Tuesday, Komppa did not have any real numbers to share in terms of what that translates to rent-wise.

The initial budget for West Middle Creek was approximately $170 million, but Komppa reported on Tuesday that an increase in hard costs has brought its project budget up to $180 million. Komppa added that it has a bonding capacity of around $191 million as a function of the currently underwritten income from rent.

The project has some “wiggle room,” in terms of bonding capacity and what rents are set at, he said.

“With the underwritten bond proceeds of $191 million, if we wanted to right-size the bonds to $180 million, we can reduce that underwritten rent, that income that we’re receiving, from 110% AMI to 105% or 100% to get that bond,” Komppa said, adding that additional funding sources and money — including potential grants or deferred tap and sewer fees — could impact that further as well.

At the end of the day, Komppa told the council: “We can finance 100% of this project without a contribution from the town.”

Making it work

West Middle Creek is one of two large workforce housing projects moving forward in the town. The other, the redevelopment of Timber Ridge, will bring 288 units to the market, with first occupancy expected by November 2025. The development is providing units for purchase, both by businesses and individuals, with the town likely to acquire some of the units.

On Tuesday, the team from Corum said it does not anticipate that the proximity of Timber Ridge will impact its ability to rent the West Middle Creek units because the need in Vail is well established and they’re different project types.

“I firmly believe that we will not be in a competitive landscape with that asset,” Komppa said.

However, the town is facing some financing challenges concerning the budgets and timing of West Middle Creek, Timber Ridge and the redesign of Dobson Ice Arena. With significant price tags on all three projects, the town would experience a hit to its cash flow and reserves unless it pursues short- or long-term financing options. 

Carlie Smith, the town’s financial director, said that while West Middle Creek is “fully funded, it does require a $20 million loan or bridge loan from town or in some other manner.”

This $20 million will go toward site work and initial infrastructure costs.

With the updated budget from Corum, Smith reported that staff would be back at the Town Council’s next meeting on June 18 with a financing update regarding West Middle Creek, Timber Ridge and Dobson.

“To be able to do all three, you will need to finance at least one of the projects,” Smith said.