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Crews on affordable units hope to put a roof on The Reserves before winter

Tom Ross
Construction crews work on the new affordable housing project, called the Reserves at Steamboat Springs, in the summer. The project is one of the few new projects offering affordable housing Steamboat.
Scott Franz

— Construction crews working on The Reserves, a 48-unit affordable apartment complex on the west side of Steamboat Springs, reached a visible milestone this week as they began lifting roof trusses into place on the first building in the project.

“We’re finishing rough framing on the first building with the trusses, and are as involved with the mechanical trades as we can get,” Scott Parks, construction superintendent with McPherson Contractors, said Sept. 15.

Electrical, sheet metal and plumbing subcontractors were all busy working inside the four walls of the building this week, Parks said. Soon, carpenters will install sheathing on the roof followed by a waterproof membrane.



“We’ve got the roof scheduled,” Parks said. “As soon as we’re dried in, we can make quick work of the drywall.”

In the meantime, Jason Peasley, executive director of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority (YVHA) said his office is receiving significant interest in the project, although the formal release of leasing information by Ross Management likely won’t happen until close to the December holidays. However, interested parties are welcome to contact his office at 970-870-0167 to be placed on an information list.



“At this point, it’s not a waiting list,” Peasley said. “It’s a list of people we’ll send information to when it’s ready to list.”

YVHA owned the site of The Reserves on Elk River Road just north of its intersection with U.S. Highway 40 on the west side of Steamboat Springs, and it was the awarding of federal income tax credits through the Colorado Housing Finance Authority in July 2015, and the willingness of the city of Steamboat Springs and Routt County to commit a combined $400,000 to the project, that proved to be the key that unlocked the potential of the land to provide affordable housing.

Enterprise Community Investment Inc., purchased the tax credits for $13 million — $2 million more than anticipated — on behalf of American Express, making it YVHA’s equity partner in the housing project.

Overland Property group of Kansas was selected as the developer of the project. Enterprise, in turn, selected Ross Management, with a long track record of managing similar projects on the Front Range, to manage The Reserves.

Under CHFA’s terms, a fixed number of the apartments at The Reserves will be assigned to each of three categories of prospective tenants — those households earning less than 40, 50 and 60 percent of the median income here. Peasley reminded interested households that median income is a moving target from year to year, and the number is updated annually in the first quarter of the year.

“It (varies) with household size, and the compliance process is very case specific.” Peasley said.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1


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