Updates to the new workforce housing development slated for the Town-owned property along Fish Hatchery Road were given to the Town Board at their regular meeting on June 10 and at the Estes Park Housing Authority’s monthly meeting on June 11.
A new proposed site plan, based on community feedback given in late March and other consultations with Rocky Mountain National Park, the Town of Estes Park staff, and the Colorado Department of Transportation, was presented by Ronnie Pelusio, principal at Pel-Ona: Architects and Urbanists, the contractors working on the project.
Pelusio pointed out differences between a previous plan presented by another contractor in 2022, which called for 190 units, and in Pelusio’s opinion, would not be compatible with the site’s current conditions, which include wetlands, floodplain, wildlife corridors, sloping conditions, and traffic considerations.
The current plan includes approximately 100 units, said Pelusio, and the use of a Rocky Mountain National Park-owned right of way as the main access road, instead of the current Fish Hatchery Road.
In addition, “these buildings are smaller in nature” than the 2022 plan, Pelusio said on June 10. “There’s a diversity of housing types, as indicated in the legend, as well as in the site plan itself, which offers greater opportunity for a diverse group of users.” Plans include rentals and home ownership opportunities in duplexes, townhomes, and single-family structures.
“Having a neighborhood with a diverse group of users provides greater opportunity for connections with different people in your community, and it actually creates a stronger neighborhood,” Pelusio said. His firm has worked on neighborhoods like this across the state and nation, for communities with varying income levels and needs.
Pelusio said that all of the current buildings on the site will probably be demolished except for one that may be repurposed for a leasing office. The Fall River Hydroplant and museum will be preserved as they are.
At the Town Board meeting, Trustee Mark Igel wanted details on how many of these units will be priced at an affordable level, considering the area median income of Estes Park is lower than in the rest of Larimer County. EPHA will be able to offer approximately 45 units at 60% Area Median Income or lower, and an additional 30 units at 50% AMI or lower, said EPHA’s director of real estate development , Pete Levine.
The lower costs will be possible using a Low Income Housing Tax Credit of 9%, Levine said. The LIHTC is a federal program that incentivizes private investment in affordable housing development.
Other EPHA Board news
At the EPHA board meeting, Scott Moulton reported that his contract will expire at the end of the month. This item will be revisited at the regular meeting in July, and Moulton’s contract will be extended until then.
EPHA closed on the $7 million equity contribution from the Colorado Housing Finance and Housing Authority, to offset additional expenses and the final loan for the purchase of Fall River Village on June 13.
EPHA is considering hiring a public relations firm to facilitate communications on various developments and programs they offer to the public. Currently, $45,000 has been budgeted to contract such services.
“We need to really work on our language and how we talk about it with people, how we communicate workforce housing to the community,” said EPHA board member Stacy Ciolli. “There needs to be a campaign that shows that it benefits the community to have people in that income range, because without them, you don’t have servers, you don’t have people working at the grocery store or the hospital, the fast-food restaurant…You need those people in your community, and I think that is forgotten, especially when you’re surrounded by people who are only here half the year.”
“I don’t think the community knows who lives in our homes, who lives under our roofs,” added Moffatt, who also said that she and the rest of the team get phone calls daily asking about the workforce housing developments EPHA is working on and how to get on the waiting lists. “In our office, we do a lot of public educating, in addition to our regular duties, she said.
The next EPHA meeting will be on Wednesday, July 9 at 8:30 a.m., at the US Bank Building’s George Hix meeting room and is open to the public.