Back in September 2023, Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley hosted an open house for its multifamily Glenwood Springs project, The Confluence. 

Located on Eighth Street and Midland Avenue, the project targets residents who make an income of 80% area median income, which was negotiated between Glenwood Springs City Council and Habitat. 

For residents to qualify for purchase, they must satisfy requirements for need (their current living situation is crowded, unsafe or unaffordable) and residency, among others. Priority is given to residents that are employed full-time within the city limits of Glenwood Springs. 

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Recently, Habitat changed the building’s plans to six multifamily units, from eight.  

The development was originally slated to include six two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. The updated project will cut two of the two-bedroom units. 

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The price of the homes will remain the same, with a starting price of $250,000 for the 2-bedroom condo and $325,000 for the 3-bedrooms. 

“We have a site that was a little tighter than anticipated, and per that, we want to make sure we are meeting all of the zoning requirements,” Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley President Gail Schwartz said. “We really wanted to maintain the livability of the site and our commitments around the development. These will be beautiful homes.” 

Schwartz said Habitat is working on adjusting the site plan and sending it to the planning office for review. The adjustment will re-work the building plans to fit inside a slightly smaller footprint, in order to maintain available public space and allow enough room for the sidewalk.  

“It’s basically the same … site, but we just want to address the lot line and make sure that we’re complying with zoning and setbacks,” she said. 

The plan still includes two parking spaces per condo, which at six units would equal 12 total parking spaces instead of 16. 

“What we saw was … our parking that we had allocated to the site plan at two parking places per unit was going to be too tight,” Gail said. “We want to again assure true livability of those homes and respect the neighborhood’s request on the parking.” 

Project costs

Schwartz said Habitat is still in the process of solidifying what the project’s overall cost will be. What they do know is that, at a minimum, they will need to subsidize $1 million to build on what the partnering families are already paying to purchase their homes. 

“And that is where we’re going to come back to the community and ask for support,” Schwartz said. “Our target was to raise a million dollars to subsidize the cost of that development.” 

In the last couple of years, construction costs have gone up 37%, the impacts of which Schwartz said they’ve seen while building their 20 homes in Rifle. 

“We’re foreseeing a little bit of suffering for some of those costs,” she said. 

For now, it’s a question of whether they can use costs that are comparable to their project in Rifle. 

Despite the decrease in number of units for the Confluence project, Schwartz said the change will not impact infrastructure costs, which will largely remain the same. The only numbers impacted by the redesign are the cost of building each individual unit, which will be higher compared with the original design due to significant grade changes. 

Habitat typically subsidizes up to $100,000 per home, as they did with Wapiti Commons in Rifle, to deliver a sale price that’s affordable for the families earning in the range of 80% AMI. 

“Our affordability is key to us,” Schwartz said. “It takes partners. It takes partners in the community, it takes partners in the families, it takes partners in the state and the federal government, to get ourselves to a place where we can build these new neighborhoods.” 

The community’s response

Schwartz said that some of the criticisms Habitat has received over the project are based on a misunderstanding of the project itself. 

“People say, ‘Oh they’re just growing the community,’ no no no. We’re just taking those people that are already part of the community and stabilizing them,” she said. “Should they leave the community, it will go back to someone that is currently working in the community.” 

The goal of the project isn’t to bring new people into Glenwood Springs, Schwartz explained, but rather to provide homes for those who are already working in city limits, especially those living in rentals or commuting from nearby towns.

“We know that currently 80% of the people that work in Glenwood Springs commute into Glenwood Springs everyday,” she said. “Our goal is to create secure homes for people to live and work from Glenwood. Is that going to be a firefighter, or a teacher, or a RFTA employee?” 

The Habitat homes will give priority to residents who have a record of work in Glenwood Springs for at least two years. 

“That’s part of the ordinance that the city put together as a criteria,” Schwartz said. “We’re taking people that are currently working in the community and stabilizing them, from probably a rental unit into a permanent home … (so they can) continue to participate in the community and give back to the community, shop in the community, etcetera.” 

Right now, approximately 98% of all Habitat homes are still occupied by their original owners.  

“When people receive these homes, they stay, and continue working in the community,” Schwartz said. 

On top of giving workers in Glenwood Springs the opportunity to purchase a home, the project also contributes to decreasing commuter traffic through Glenwood Springs. 

“These are people that are here working, while living from Parachute to Aspen,” Schwartz said. “We’re under housing the workforce that serves the needs of our community.”

Schwartz also pointed out that responses to the project differ between Glenwood Springs government, business owners, residents, among other groups. 

“There is a continual drumbeat by business owners, the institutions, the hospitals and RFTA, saying ‘we need housing.’ That is one voice,” she said. “The government in their openness and willingness to support affordable housing is another voice.” 

Despite the voices of opposition Habitat experiences, some of which come from residents who own second homes and don’t live in Glenwood Springs year-round, Schwartz said their work in Glenwood Springs is far from done. 

“That does not discourage us because we know every day, the families and our workforce are paying a great price to serve our communities,” she said. “We are committed to helping address the affordable housing issue in Glenwood Springs. This was a wonderful partnership, and we will look at other ways to partner with the community to build more homes.” 

The Confluence will be breaking ground in July of this year. 

Those interested in purchasing homes or finding more information can visit habitatroaringfork.org.