Colorado’s junior U.S. senator, Democrat John Hickenlooper, was in Rifle on August 22 to check out Wapiti Commons, an affordable housing project built by Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley.
He toured one of the townhomes nearing completion, and learned about Habitat’s home ownership program.
Hickenlooper secured $1.2 million from Congress last year for the project, which includes 10 for-sale townhomes meant for working families, and 8 accessible condos for older adults.
Hickenlooper also participated in a roundtable discussion with local leaders about some of the region’s unique housing challenges.
Some of those leaders included state Tinker Duclo, dean of CMC Rifle, Glenwood Springs Mayor Ingrid Wussow, Silt Public Works Director Jeff Laymen, Representative Elizabeth Velasco (D-Glenwood Springs), Republican Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky, and Carolyn Tucker with the Colorado Workforce Center.
Tucker said the lack of housing inventory was apparent for nearly every demographic.
“Entry-level, apartments, multi-family, home ownership, small family, and downsizing. We don’t have any of that.” she said. “With housing costs and construction costs, it’s a real conundrum.”
Tucker said it’s become increasingly difficult for people to live in the communities where they work. She talked about people commuting to jobs in Aspen from Grand Junction, and that even in Rifle, much of the workforce has to live further out and commute in. Other officials agreed with her assessment.
“The quality of life is suffering because of the housing cost,” said Glenwood Springs Mayor Ingrid Wussow. She said 78% of Glenwood’s workforce commutes into town. “Most of those people would love to live in Glenwood, but there’s not enough housing stock. If they could’ve bought four years ago, they probably would've been able to afford a home at a decent interest rate and locked that in. Four years later, rents have quadrupled in some areas.”
With Wapiti Commons, Habitat for Humanity provided on the job training to people working in trades, like construction workers and electricians.
Wussow said this kind of programming was great for the region.
“We have an aging demographic of people who are retiring, our electricians, our plumbers, or HVAC consultants,” Wussow said. “In these mountain towns, we need to train the next generation to come in and, if we can, in dual time, create the homes we need, and the trades, it really does support us.”
Hickenlooper said in his capacity as Senator, he’s looking for broad ways the federal government can support local solutions to big problems like the housing crisis.
“Part of the value of Wapiti is the fact that it becomes a template, it becomes a model that can be repeated north to south, on both sides of the Continental Divide,” he said.
He said the success of projects like Wapiti makes them an attractive investment for Congress.
Hickenlooper commended regional leaders for their willingness to come together across party lines and from a variety of backgrounds to address the crisis collaboratively.
“I think the greatest resource everywhere, all over Colorado, there are — maybe not anything as impressive as this, as Habitat, what you guys are doing,” he said. “But all over the state, there are groups of civilians rolling up their sleeves and saying, ‘all right, we’re can’t live with this, and here’s how we’re going to address it, and here’s where we need the help.’”
Hickenlooper is in Steamboat Springs Wednesday for the Colorado Water Congress’ summer conference.
