After many months of navigating through the proper means in obtaining money, the town of Bayfield is finally ready to make some headway on infrastructure for a new housing project.
The town secured $2.7 million in funding for 30 lots of infrastructure with the Cinnamon Heights deed-restricted townhome development on the east side of Bayfield.
The state of Colorado will provide $2 million in Transformational Affordable Housing Grant funding, while La Plata County will provide $700,000, said Bayfield Community Development Director Nicole Killian.
“We’re hoping that will help keep the cost of the units down for the project,” she said.
The town looks to finalize those financial logistics by early April, she said.
Bayfield purchased the lots through foreclosure in 2021, but the funding and engineering processes took much longer than anticipated.
The town was first rewarded the $2 million in state funding in June 2023, but learned it cannot receive funding until the remaining $700,000 was secured.
In August 2023, Bayfield applied for other funding sources such as a Strong Communities Grant from the state to cover the remaining $700,000, but that was a no-go because it is state funding, only adding on to the frustrations.
“There’s a sense of urgency, because in Colorado our construction season’s shorter,” Killian said.
The town then learned on Dec. 12, 2023, that the county had some leftover ARPA funds.
The La Plata County commissioners approved that latter piece of funding on Feb. 6, and state money was in turn ready to roll.
“We would’ve liked to have seen it start last summer,” Killian said. “But yeah, it took a while longer.”
Aside from competing for American Rescue Plan Act money early on, the town had to finalize all of its grant funding before finalizing a contract with a developer.
Killian said the process of applying for and then receiving the funding takes more than a year.
The town is still searching for a developer to build the units. Killian said she is looking to launch the application process on Friday via BidNet.com.
Once the town hires a developer, construction will get underway. The goal is to get proposals by March 31, then have the town’s Board of Trustees approve a contract by early May.
“It’s a pretty tight schedule,” she said. “The reason why is construction season’s starting, and we want to see some construction start this summer if possible.”
In Colorado, deed-restricted homes are homes where there are certain eligibility requirements and parameters involving resale prices.
The units would fall within the 80% to 120% area median income range.
The town also put money into other related work on the project, such as site engineering, architectural planning and drainage.
All of the infrastructure must be done no later than December 2026 to meet the state funding deadline, Killian said.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
