Valley Voices: Timber Ridge is great housing opportunity for local businesses
Valley Voices
We are a handful of the local businesses, organizations and nonprofits that have committed to purchase brand new homes at the upcoming redevelopment of Timber Ridge. We collectively applaud the town of Vail for once again being progressive and creative when it comes to community housing solutions by fronting more than $50 million in land and infrastructure costs for the project and partnering once again with a proven local housing developer, Triumph Development West.
Rarely is there an opportunity for businesses in Eagle County to purchase brand-new housing for their employees so close to the world-famous ski slopes of Vail, locking in their financial destiny instead of paying for their workers to subsidize the out-of-control rental market.
When that rare opportunity presents itself — as it now has with the Town of Vail’s ambitious new Timber Ridge Village — the business community needs to be ready to jump in and secure the housing that we all need for employees with this incredible, below-market housing opportunity.
The housing crisis is all of our problem, and while many of us have already purchased or built housing for our employees, it’s never, ever enough. The vital members of the community workforce — the literal lifeblood of our global resort destination’s unparalleled success — deserve a place to call home that’s a short walk, bike or bus ride from the slopes that drew us all here.
From restaurant and hotel staff to health care workers to teachers to first responders and more, we all need our employees to be close to where they work and play, and Timber Ridge Village is right in the heart of the action.
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Even Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley has recognized this unprecedented opportunity with affordable homeownership for 10 Habitat families.
We are pleased to see so many individual buyers excited to live in Vail with purchases, but we want to see more businesses join us. Here’s why we’ve committed to Timber Ridge Village, and why we hope you’ll join us too:
- It’s a good investment. All Timber Ridge Village homes are currently priced at between 15% to 24% below comparable condo sales over the past two years — and these comparable sales were all built before 1981!
- Generous, livable unit sizes along with separate storage for outdoor gear.
- A flexible deed restriction with no price appreciation caps, no limits on income, and no limits owning other real estate. Each home just needs to be occupied by one full-time employee of an Eagle County business.
- Many great options from studios to 4-bedroom units can be a comfortable home to individuals, to groups of employees living together, or to entire families.
This is an exciting time to play our part in solving the housing crisis while at the same time, providing a desperately-needed continuum of housing. Vail has a history of celebrating community — and Timber Ridge Village is providing a step closer to retaining community and a world-class workforce for all locals and guests.
We encourage every business to learn more and begin securing the housing that we all need!
Johannes Faessler, Sonnenalp Hotel
Matt Morgan, Sweet Basil/Mountain Standard
Sandra Farrell, Eagle County School District
Steve Virion, Barrio Social/La Bottega
