Less than a year ago, The Reserves, a 48-unit affordable housing development on the west side of town, opened its doors to residents. It had a waitlist four times the size of the project and was the city’s first newly constructed low to moderate income housing development in 20 years. 

The Yampa Valley Housing Authority, a local entity that advocates for safe and affordable housing solutions, had owned the land since 2006. Overland Property Group developed The Reserves using the 9% low-income housing tax credit program offered through the Colorado Housing Finance Authority. $400K of local community investment was leveraged to build the $13M project. By all accounts, the project has been a whopping success. 

The YVHA set its sights on securing future opportunities and Referendum 5A, a one-mill property tax levy to create a dedicated funding source for affordable housing development, was recently passed by voters. 

“With a dedicated funding source we are able to start a pipeline of projects, like The Reserves, to meet our goal of building 600 units in 10 years,” says Jason Peasley, Executive Director for YVHA. 

The 72-unit, Alpenglow Village, is the next proposed affordable housing development, located adjacent to Walgreens off of US Highway 40. Rising rental rates and increasing property prices are putting a strain on Steamboat’s working population. In a community that thrives on the personnel heavy hospitality industry, solutions are being sought to combat the housing crisis. 

“Now we have funding to fill the gap between other grant opportunities, tax credits and private sources to help make a deal work,” Peasley continues. 

Plans are already underway to secure future projects to help alleviate the growing demand.