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22-unit townhome complex with workforce housing breaks ground

Project is within Durango’s North Main Gateway Urban Renewal Area
Contractors work on a townhome development on Wednesday at 33rd Street and East Second Avenue. The development will include 22 units, 10 of which will be designated for workforce housing. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

The city of Durango celebrated the groundbreaking of a 22-unit townhome project this week that includes 10 units of workforce housing.

Mayor Pro Tem Melissa Youssef, who attended the event Monday, said the project is an example of collaborative efforts to address the need for workforce housing.

“It is an excellent collaborative effort between private and public (entities),” she said. “It’s obviously small. We need a much bigger scale (of workforce housing development). But this is how we do it, project by project, step by step.”

The project shifted greatly from original plans. It was first pitched as five single-family homes costing about $1.5 million each, but through discussions between the developer and the city, the project shifted into what it is today.

Durango is grappling with an affordable housing crisis in which working residents, including teachers, police, firefighters and others, can’t afford to live in the city. Youssef said transforming the project from a five-home development to 22 townhomes will provide ownership opportunities for “a wide range of community members as a result, including the 10 deed-restricted units for workforce housing.”

Agave Durango is developing the project.

Scott Shine, assistant community development director for the city, said the Animas City Park Overlook project is an opportunity to invest in the North Main Gateway Urban Renewal Area.

“It’s right by north Main, it’s right by the river trail,” he said. “It’s the perfect place for what we call infill development (parks and services in a mixed-use zone within walking distance).”

He said city officials and staff members are “very pleased” with the added workforce housing packaged into the project.

Tom Sluis, spokesman for the city of Durango, said in an email the townhome project is the first for the city’s North Main Gateway Urban Renewal Area.

Durango Community Development said in a written statement the project is “a pioneering and replicable example of how the URA (Urban Renewal Area) and other community institutions can partner with private sector entities to accomplish community objectives, specifically the creation of vital workforce housing.”

Contractors work on a townhome development on Wednesday at 33rd Street and East Second Avenue. The development includes 22 units, 10 of which will be designated for workforce housing. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

In March, City Council approved the formation of the city’s second Urban Renewal Area, dubbed the North Main Gateway, where the Urban Renewal Authority can allocate property tax mill levies and the general fund’s sales tax revenues (2%) for development projects.

Shine said the North Main Gateway area, which is a mixed-use zone 15-acres in size containing 23 properties, serves as an entry point into the community.

“We said this is where we want new investment to happen,” Shine said.

The city estimates it can generate about $350,000 in property tax revenues over 25 years through the townhome project. He said the URA will be able to provide that funding, which will be paid back over time, for new curbs and gutters, street treatments, sidewalks and residential units dedicated indefinitely for workforce housing.

Youssef said the Urban Renewal Area and the townhome project were born from the collaborative effort of the Durango Urban Renewal Authority and its governing board of trustees that include City Council members and representatives from La Plata County, Durango School District 9-R, a special district representative and a mayoral appointee.

“That intentionally delineated board composition shows collaboration is embedded throughout this partnership community wide,” she said.

Residency requirements

Six of the 10 workforce housing units will have residency requirements, said Lisa Bloomquist, executive director of Homesfund, a mortgage assistance nonprofit.

“It needs to be (for) members of our workforce, and we are going to verify that people meet those workforce requirements,” she said.

Bloomquist declined to comment about specific residency requirements for the townhomes because they are still under negotiation.

But she described residency requirements used in Homesfund’s mortgage assistance program. If a person is purchasing a home in Durango and seeking assistance from Homesfund, they need to show they work at least 32 hours a week within La Plata County. Or, they can demonstrate they have lived in the county for at least a year before purchasing a unit.

“The reason for having that residency alternative is because you don’t want to inadvertently discriminate against any people who are disabled or on Social Security/disability,” she said. “We don’t want people who are buying these townhomes as a second home or an investment property. We want people to be buying them who are a part of our workforce.”

Four of the 10 workforce housing units will be deed-restricted, and those terms are also under negotiation. But, the units will be available for purchase for a reduced price by households making 120% of the area median income or less, a city news release said.

“The four units will have not only workforce requirements but also have income requirements in that people need to be below certain income thresholds,” Bloomquist said.

Those units will also have appreciation caps, appreciate slower and be priced lower than market rates, she said.

Mark Williamson of Agave Durango, the developer, said the four deed-restricted units will be priced around $399,999 while the other six workforce units will be priced at about $10,000 less than the market rate units.

“This is a full electric development, all appliances and heating and cooling,” he said in an email. “Solar options available on rooftops where it makes sense. EV charging station in the parking area.”

The project is expected to take about one year to complete.

Williamson said Agave Durango is trying to keep costs low and is not contracting a Realtor to list and sell the units planned for Animas City Park Overlook. Prospective buyers should contact Agave directly.

cburney@durangoherald.com



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