PRESS RELEASE
APCHA Board Commits $25K to Regional Housing Needs Assessment
Contact: Mike Kosdrosky, APCHA Director, mike.kosdrosky@cityofaspen.com or 920-5068
Aspen, Colorado – December 13, 2017 – The Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority Board voted unanimously last week to contribute $25,000 toward an in-depth assessment of work force housing needs in the Roaring Fork Valley. The request for funds came from a loose affiliation of local government and citizen stakeholders working toward the possible creation of a multi-jurisdictional housing authority, informally called the Roaring Fork Valley Regional Housing Authority (RFVRHA).
“The APCHA Board pledged five thousand dollars more than was requested by the regional housing advocates,” said Mike Kosdrosky, APCHA Executive Director. “Members felt this was great way to show Aspen and Pitkin County’s commitment to regional cooperation and to acquire regional housing information for a fraction of the overall cost. We understand that working valley-wide will benefit everyone. And the needs assessment is essential because we can’t solve specific workforce housing problems until we know what they are.”
Members of the RFVRHA stakeholder group selected the firms Economic and Planning Systems out of Denver and RRC Associates out of Boulder to conduct the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The work product will include an analysis of current and future workforce housing in relation to Area Median Income for the next ten years; an analysis of existing senior housing and a growth projections of the senior population over the next decade; and a basis for explaining the depth of the problem to governments and the public along with potential solutions. The primary area of focus is from Aspen to Garfield County.
Data collected will include number of renters versus owners in the study area, household incomes, types of homes people are living in, vacancy rates, commuter numbers, drivers versus transit users, and household costs among others.
“APCHA is an important stakeholder in this process,” Kosdrosky added. “We are looking forward to contributing to this important assessment and seeing the results.”
APCHA’s contribution came from a non-taxpayer based fund. The total cost of the study is $140,000. It will begin in 2018 and take about one year to complete.
Kosdrosky will serve on the technical advisory committee overseeing the study.
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