Garfield County is one step closer to building what many officials consider is an affordable housing crisis solution.

Rifle City Council last week unanimously approved a lease for Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley’s proposal to build a modular home production facility on 10 acres west of the downtown area on U.S. Highway 6. The site is adjacent to Rifle’s wastewater treatment facility and was formerly used to produce uranium. It has since been remediated.

The original proposal called for about 7 acres but was increased with the aim of having space for a staging area, officials said. 

The modular home facility is set to supply the region with one- and two-story modular houses built with recycled steel. The houses will be sold for well under Garfield County’s median sales price for a single-family home, which is currently $775,000, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors.

Habitat not only plans to pump out about 100 homes a year, it’s also working with Colorado Mountain College and the Colorado River Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) to offer construction training for local students. This includes training 30-50 individuals a year. The facility is also set to bring in 27 full-time jobs to the region. 

But in addition to Rifle’s greenlighting the $1 lease, regional Habitat president Gail Schwartz said Gov. Jared Polis is currently requesting a $3 million direct spending grant from U.S. Congress to support the project.

“This shows tremendous support on the part of our U.S. senators for the work we’re doing here in Rifle,” Schwartz said. “It would be so impactful for this reason.”

Conor Cahill, Polis’ press secretary, said the governor wants to ensure there is a home for every Colorado budget and Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley is setting a model for the state on tackling its housing crisis.

“Gov. Polis has visited the Basalt Vista Net Zero Affordable Community to see the impact communities like this can make. Innovative solutions like building modular home production facilities locally can cut down on the financial costs and environmental impacts of shipping and make the time between building a home and people living in it much, much faster,” he said. “Gov. Polis looks forward to visiting this new project in Rifle and making sure the state steps up to help address the major housing challenges we face.”

Aspen to Parachute (including Gypsum and Dotsero) housing shortfalls have persisted for years now. In 2017, a Roaring Fork Valley housing needs study projected 4,000 units were needed in the region. That estimation has since increased to 6,800 affordable units.

Habitat for Humanity RFV Vice President David Myler noted that the organization has since 2017 added more units regionally — it’s currently building 20 units in at the Wapiti Commons in Rifle — but that the shortfall is still increasing given the unpredictable market impacts still being felt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If we just started tomorrow, our factory would hopefully produce some significant numbers of that 4,000-unit shortfall,” he said. “So, we think there is going to be a long-term demand for the product that we’re producing for Habitat to build and for other organizations that are providing deed-restricted workforce housing.”

Once built, Habitat is going to charge $170,000-$190,000 for condos and $240,000-$290,000 for two-story townhomes at the Wapiti Commons. These are wood built.

Rifle City Council spent time last week asking about just how long the facility can pump out modular homes and continue to employ and train people. Mayor Pro Tem Brian Condie asked whether the facility could still produce if the local housing market were to saturate.

“Worst case, in 30 years, you’ll end up with another ReStore here,” Schwartz said, referring to its downvalley facility that sells donated items like furniture.