Officials are working to execute a land lease with the U.S. Forest Service before the authority expires on Sept. 30.
Caption: U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Joe Neguse visit the U.S. Forest Service's Hilltop property in July to discuss the potential for workforce housing. (City of Steamboat Springs/Courtesy)
The Yampa Valley Housing Authority announced a partnership with developer Servitas to build housing on U.S. Forest Service Land on Hilltop Drive in Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, the same company that is building workforce housing on federal administrative land in Dillon, Colorado.
The partnership also includes the city of Steamboat Springs, which will be the holder of a long-term land lease with the forest service. The development will include 84 units, with 16 set aside for forest service personnel and 10 for city employees.
Once a project on the backburner for YVHA as they planned the Brown Ranch, Executive Director Jason Peasley said in an interview last week that they have made this project a priority since voters rejected Brown Ranch annexation in March.
“At one point in time when Brown Ranch was dominating our workload, it was like ‘Do we have capacity for this?’” Peasley said. “Brown Ranch is not dominating our workload right now, so we definitely do have capacity for it and we’ve brought in a developer partner that is dramatically increasing our capacity to get this lease done with the forest service. …It’s very much a real project for us and we’re excited about that.”
The project is seemingly the second in the nation to attempt to go through this process, which was created as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The Dillon project is the first, with 162 units planned for the 11 acre-parcel targeting incomes of 80% to 120% the Summit County area median income.
The Hilltop project is one of two currently in the pipeline for the housing authority, with the other being its Cottonwoods at Mid Valley project along U.S. 40 on the south side of Steamboat Springs. That project is mostly a for sale project, with the first phase of 86 one-, two- and three- bedroom condos being ready for sale at the end of next year. Peasley said they are still working on a timeline for the Hilltop project, but they are currently hoping to break ground in 2026.
When those projects are added with YVHA’s other four developments (The Reserves, Alpenglow, Sunlight Crossing and Anglers 400), YVHA is on pace to build just shy of 600 units since voters approved a 1 mill property tax in 2017. During the campaign to get that vote passed, YVHA committed to building 600 units by 2030.
The Hilltop project is an all-rental property, with certain units set aside for the forest service and city. Peasley said they are still working out exactly how that will be arranged, but that the forest service has not interest in owning any of the units. Units will target 50% and 140% the area median income for Routt County, a range that includes individuals making between $41,700 and $116,760 a year.
The authority for the forest service to lease the land stems from a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill, but that measure is set to expire on Sept. 30. Peasley said it was a tight timeline, but that he was optimistic that they would be able to get a lease done by that deadline.
“If we don’t hit Sept. 30, then we’ve got this kind of of unspecified delay,” Peasley said. “We’re okay with that, our development partner is okay with that, but we’ve going to give it all we got to get to Sept. 30.”
On Tuesday night, Steamboat Springs city Council member Dakotah McGinlay also noted the tight timeline to execute a lease, but that Sept. 30 wasn’t necessarily the final deadline.
“The forest service and [U.S. Sen. Michael] Bennet’s staff seem optimistic that the Farm Bill will be approved and that the leasing authority will potentially continue,” McGinlay said. “Hopefully that happens, but hopefully was also just don’t need to worry about that.”
Council is scheduled to consider the lease on first reading on Sept. 3.