Mountain Real Estate
Maintaining a Vibrant Community
By Daniel Webster Johnson

A Crusade

Passionate.  That is the only word that describes Laurie Best when the conversation turns to affordable housing in Summit County and Breckenridge in particular.  Laurie has worked in the planning department at the Town of Breckenridge for years and is the planner that has been the driving force behind the town’s pioneering efforts.

I’ve know Laurie for a few years now, I knew she felt the subject of making sure locals can live near were they work is important. When I interviewed her for this article I become aware that she is woman on a crusade.  Crusade is the right word.  Affordable housing is a contentious issue in resort communities across the country.  For example I interviewed many for this article who are ardently opposed to the concept (several of my fellow real estate brokers included).  “If we don’t continue to address the need for housing for locals our community we will no longer be vibrant,” says Laurie.

The old bumper sticker sums it up.

Breckenridge:

Real Town, Unreal Skiing

But it won’t be a real town if the elementary schools are empty because the manager of the t-shirt shop can’t afford to live here.  Look at Vail Village.  Nobody can afford to live there.  The Village is not vibrant with locals coming and going.  The supermarket is in East Vail.  With an enormous amount of luck a local just might be able to afford a home a couple of exits down I-70 from East Vail.  Case in point: in 2007 Charter Sports, one of our clients, bought a townhome in Eagle-Vail across the street from a bus stop so that their Vail and Beaver Creek ski rental shop employees would have a place to live.

There is an urban legend that says a fully employed attorney with 20 years of experience on a substantial salary can just barely afford the ‘affordable housing’ in Aspen.

All the towns and the Summit County government are concerned.  All are taking action.  Another crusader I interviewed is Jennifer Kermonde, Executive Director of the Summit Combined Housing Authority.  Their mission since 1992: To ensure the continued availability and accessibility of appropriate housing countywide for permanent county residents not otherwise served by the market.  My favorite is their byline:

Because everyone deserves a place to call home.

Jennifer says there is no one solution for the county; that it will take the combination of various efforts and solutions to ensure our long term viability as a community with real towns. She makes a very strong case for how urgent the requirement is.  The need for affordable housing, she states, is ahead of the units that are currently in the planning stages.

Then and Now

When we moved to Breckenridge a dozen years ago housing was costly however it was still affordable for locals.  For example a friend of ours, a hardworking self-employed plumber and his wife who taught at the elementary school, bought a single family home within an easy walk to Main St.  Those days are over.  Today it just isn’t possible for a ‘typical’ small business person to afford the same home. Kent and Tony are partners in Olde World Painting (they do a great job).  Both own homes within an almost easy walk to Main St.  One is in Gibson Heights and the other in The Wellington.  These affordable housing neighborhoods are both located at the east end of Wellington Rd.

A New Entrance to Town

The Town of Breckenridge has, for nearly a decade, been taking action when it comes to this issue.  They have several initiatives in existence and many in the planning stages. One of these projects, Block 11 & Valley Brook, will transform the entrance into Breckenridge.  The boarders are Coyne Valley Rd on the south, the Blue River to east, Airport Rd to the west and Valley Brook Rd to the north.  Construction starts this summer with:

• the new Colorado Mountain College campus going in near Coyne Valley Rd.
• A housing complex near the corner of Valley Brook and Airport Roads. 

The entire project is expected to take about ten years to be completed.

This is a major project that as the first sentence of the planning document states, “…is based on the values, principles and development patterns established over time by the residents of an authentic mountain town.”  As these illustrations show it will dramatically enhance an area that is now a neglected old airstrip.  I can’t think of a better use of this prime real estate.

These days when you drive down Airport Road it feels like an out of place commercial zone that lacks vibrance.  The buildings stand barren; all alone.  Nobody is walking around.  Wait a few years and see the difference.  Watch this area transform into a community with commercial and residential side by side, as you see everywhere in Europe.  People will be walking to work and school.  Others will hop on their bikes for the quick trip into town.  That is what I want in my community.

For a copy of the 28 page planning document for bock 11 & Valley Brook which gives a very good feel for the project send us an email.  It is impressive.  My guess is that it will be an award winning project that planners from all over the country will come to experience and learn from.

In need of a realtor® who understands the issues our community is addressing?  If you want a real estate professional that sees the big picture contact your trusted advisor, Daniel Webster Johnson.  (970) 393-3300 – daniel@yourmountainbroker.com – RE/MAX at 220 S Main St, Breckenridge.