It’s budget season in Durango and affordable workforce housing has been identified as the No. 1 priority on the community’s mind. Next year’s budget won’t be approved until December, but the city’s housing division has plans for La Posta Road (County Road 213) and a new rental subsidy program.
Devon Schmidt, budget and strategic officer for Durango, provided a brief breakdown of the proposed 2023 budget to Durango City Council on Tuesday in a video presentation and recommended that the housing division receive an allocation of $800,000, mostly for its housing incentive fund, next year.
Eva Henson, Durango housing innovation program manager, said on Friday the housing division had $500,000 allocated to it this year, but with high construction costs, labor shortages and other variables, the division needs more money.
She plans to put $500,000 to $700,000 toward public-private partnerships to develop affordable workforce housing units next year, she said. Remaining funds would be directed to a brand-new rental subsidy program to further aid Durango’s workforce in living comfortably and affordably in town.
“We would actually be helping folks get into units and offset their rental rate with some type of incentive to the landlord to basically bridge that gap for folks,” she said.
The rental subsidy program is still in the conceptual stage, but Henson said she has worked on similar projects in other cities. She is waiting to see what the 2023 budget shapes into and how much funding she will have to work with. But ideally, she wants to have the program up and running before spring, or summertime at the latest.
She said the housing incentive fund is used for more than simply building from the ground up. Preservation of current real estate is a huge focus, too.
The La Plata County Economic Development Alliance drafted a three-year workforce investment strategy report in June that identifies Durango’s housing growth needs and goals over the next three years, she said. Currently, Durango’s goal is to create 200 deed-qualified units by 2030. From Jan. 1, 2023, the city would need to develop 35 deed-qualified units per year to reach its goal on time.
But larger projects might generate more units in some years than in others, and underutilized buildings such as old offices or vacant properties can be converted into residential units, as is the case with the Best Western Hotel conversion which calls for 120 apartment units for affordable and transitional housing.
Henson said Durango received word just this week that it was awarded a $3 million grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be applied to the Best Western project, netting 120 new affordable workforce housing units.
Other projects Durango Housing Division has planned for 2023 include improvements to La Posta Road, said Scott Shine, assistant community development director.
Earlier this year, City Council appropriated $650,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for infrastructure such as water and sewer services and road improvements, he said. A bid went out for engineering services to start design on the road from U.S. Highway 160 to the end of the south La Posta area, with construction designs expected to be completed by next summer.
La Plata County is helping to fund La Posta Road improvements. The idea is that if Durango takes the lead on the project, it will have enough sway to pursue more affordable workforce housing developments throughout that area, he said.
Commercial developments and business expansion would also be possible with the proper infrastructure finally in place and would create job growth, which is a high priority for the city and county. Shine said the La Posta area has been eyeballed by both governments for many years, but development was impractical without adjustments.
The road would be updated with turn lanes and pedestrian facilities, he said.
“It’s a big undertaking,” he said. “And overall, we’ve had very good support from the landowners. They’re excited to really realize the potential of the area.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
