Beltracchi: Thinking big on housing
Valley Voices
Big problems such as affordable housing require big solutions.
We live in an area where the free market for housing is severely distorted by the ability of second-home owners to pay cash, and lots of it, for any housing that is close to the resorts. I know several people who are in their 30s and 40s, have kids and good jobs, but even with 3% interest rates and down payment assistance, $500+ per square foot for real estate is not affordable for first-time buyers.
These are people who have been in the valley for 5-10 years and would like to stay and raise their families here. The majority of jobs are in the upper valley, and it makes sense to build more housing in this area instead of adding another 500 to 1,000 cars per day on Interstate 70 between downvalley communities like Eagle, Gypsum commuting to places like Avon and Vail.
There are various committees that exist in Eagle County to study the issue of affordable housing. What we need are tangible goals, such as 1,000 new bedrooms of affordable, deed-restricted housing to be built in Eagle County by 2025.
Can another Miller Ranch type development be built in the upper valley? I believe the answer is yes, as there appears to be enough demand for it. Miller Ranch has been very successful, but has one major flaw. The county set a “floating” deed-restriction cap of between 3% and 6% that changes according to the average increase of wages. Using the “rule of 72,” if the property market goes up 6% each year, the prices will double in about 12 years.
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Have wages for buyers of these units doubled in 12 years? No. I think future deed-restricted projects should be set at a maximum appreciation rate of 3%, which would take about 24 years for a price to double. The primary goal of these projects is to be able to have affordable housing not just for the first owners, but successive owners in the future.
Where could it be built? There is plenty of buildable land at Traer Creek. The big dig on the south side of U.S. Highway 6 in Avon could be another option. Vail Resorts has plenty of land where they were going to build Ever Vail. They probably don’t want to dedicate the land that is adjacent to condo buildings in Lionshead to deed-restricted housing, but they could start with their westernmost holdings, the two retail buildings between the South Frontage Road and I-70, and put that land into a deal for housing. So as to not have the housing back right up to I-70, the South Frontage Road could be realigned so that it runs next to I-70.
How could the land be paid for to put into affordable housing deals? The Federal Government has showered pandemic relief funds on cities and towns. Locally, several towns have received $1 million or more, and officials have been quoted as saying that they don’t know what they are going to do with the money. In conjunction with up to $10 million that the Eagle County Commissioners have considered using for affordable housing, that’s some real money to start acquiring land.
More than likely, the owners of Traer Creek and Vail Resorts may want more than money for their land — probably some sort of other development concessions. The town and county governments can negotiate to make these concessions if they are reasonable.
Who could develop it? Vail Health has managed several large projects over the past few years, and they are one of the largest employers in the county. If they have the resources and real estate expertise to pull off their own developments, they could share some of that time and energy to manage a large affordable housing project. Peter Knobel has built a number of large, complicated projects as has East West Partners. Each of them could take the lead for a piece of land.
Who would handle the zoning changes required? Local, elected government officials working in conjunction with the Community Development offices at the town and county levels.
Who could build it? A local company such as Triumph Development has a track record of building deed-restricted housing on budget. Evans Chafee seems to have a lot of experience in building a wide variety of projects in the mountains.
Who could fundraise and bring it all together? The Vail Valley Foundation. The chamber’s history has been to connect people, raise money and make big events happen in the Vail area.
When could ground breaking happen? If all of the pieces were to come into place, some ground could be broken next spring. This is not a dream nor a fantasy. I think Eagle County has the resources to make it happen.
Mike Beltracchi is a longtime Eagle County local who has bought, renovated, sold and held several residential investment properties in the area and has been the director of marketing and revenue management at the Vail International Condos since 2010. He’s also a volunteer with the Literacy Project, teaching English as a second language and spends a few hours a week at The Community Market in Edwards.
