Bayfield and La Plata County representatives gathered off Bayfield Parkway on Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Pine River Commons, a 66-unit townhomes project aiming to provide affordable housing to the area workforce.
The project at 2107 Bayfield Parkway is the brainchild of Charlie Albert, who founded Bayfield Haga LLC and created Escuela San Mateo, a nonprofit primarily involved in schooling in Guatemala.
“The purpose of this project is to provide good housing for those in the Bayfield-Durango area that work everyday to make this a great community,” he said.
Each of the 66 townhomes are planned to be about 1,200 square feet and contain two or three bedrooms. They could sell for $350,000, but Albert said he hopes to offer prices between $320,000 and $330,000 with the help of grant funding.
He said the project team has applied for grants through the Colorado Department of Housing.
“If we could get a good grant from them we could lower that price to hopefully around $320,000. Anyway, we believe we will be able to provide real quality homes at these prices,” he said.
Bayfield Mayor Ashleigh Tarkington, who was one of seven attendees to grab a shovel and dig into the earth for the groundbreaking ceremony, said the Pine River Commons will be a major asset for the community.
“One of the top concerns was affordable housing. Amongst the teens, the biggest concern was that they would never be able to return to the town that they grew up in because they couldn’t afford it,” she said.
She said she appreciates “the selfless vision of Charlie” and the town of Bayfield stepping up to aid the project in its search for grant funding. She added, “It’s not too often that you see a developer that’s actually in it for all the good of the community.”
Brad Blake of Bayfield Haga LLC, which Albert also oversees, said there may be a lot of grant money out there, but securing it is difficult.
He thanked the town of Bayfield and the Bayfield Board of Trustees, the La Plata Economic Development Alliance and team members for their assistance in making the Pine River Commons come to fruition.
Planning developments alongside local governments can be a tedious process, and developments are challenging too, he said.
“It’s hard to find help a lot of times. And it’s getting harder and harder,” he said. “The thing that is common in our community is the people that want to live here and work here can’t because they can’t find a place to live.”
If all goes well, the townhomes should be ready for sale by or before summer 2024, he said in a previous interview.
Blake said workers in La Plata County having trouble finding an affordable home should contact him or the project team.
“We can work with them. We can help send them in a direction where they can get qualified to buy and get a home here in La Plata County,” he said.
Albert said it seems like many government programs these days are aimed at helping unhoused people and those with part-time incomes. However, he wants to provide affordable housing opportunities to working people.
“But for those who work 40 hours and more a week in construction, teaching school, restaurants, banks, hotels and other businesses, these are the people that really make our community great. And these are the people that deserve a good home and the people we hope to serve,” he said.
Albert, Blake, Tarkington, La Plata Economic Development Alliance deputy director Sarah Tober, La Plata County Commissioner Matt Salka and Bayfield Trustee Kyle Wolff all took shovels to the ground for the ceremony.
cburney@durangoherald.com
