Applications for 135 Silverthorne workforce rental units expected in fall

Silverthorne officials say the opportunity for residents to apply for one of the largest workforce housing projects in the city could be imminent.

City Manager Ryan Hyland said the application process for the Smith Ranch Apartments is currently on schedule, with an opening scheduled for this fall and occupancy by the end of the year.

He said this 135-unit workforce housing project is one of the most anticipated in Silverthorne due to community sentiment.

“Anyone who has been watching this development over the last year and a half or so has been wondering, ‘When is this going to be available?'” Hyland said, noting that there has been a lot of conversation about it.

He said given the high level of public interest in the apartments, the city will hold a public information meeting with its project partner Gorman and Co., a developer whose other Summit projects include the Wintergreen Apartments in Keystone and Alta Verde in Breckenridge. The event will be held before the application is awarded.

The 135 employee rental apartments will be spread across three three-story buildings. The project consists of 79 one-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom units and 31 three-bedroom units.

The rental housing is just one aspect of the Smith Ranch neighborhood. It will also consist of another 50 single-family homes, 68 duplexes and 96 townhomes, all of which are for sale and subject to title restrictions. Land has also been set aside for the development to create 50,000 square feet of commercial space. The city estimates that about 30,000 square feet will be used for grocery stores and the remaining 20,000 square feet will be used for other retail purposes.

Hyland explained that the rental aspect of the development will produce “two different products.”

One building will consist entirely of housing units subsidized under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a federal program that subsidizes the creation, acquisition and rehabilitation of housing for low-income households.

Hyland said that because Silverthorne is using the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program for this building, the income cap for rent cannot be above 60% of the area median income.

For the remaining rents of the units, an income cap of 80 to 120 percent applies.

Hyland said the Smith Ranch project’s timing coincides with two other major city projects, the expansion of Trent Park and the extension of Adams Avenue.

The Adams Avenue expansion project will create a connection between the Willowbrook Road and Smith Ranch Road neighborhoods. The Trent Park expansion will add two paved pump tracks, a warming hut, basketball courts, a bouldering play area and a court games area to the park. It will also add parking for the park and the Willow Creek Trailhead. The city also plans to build a bridge over the Willow Creek floodplain.

“It’s great that it looks like we’re going to connect that road and get the park done in exactly the same time frame,” he said, noting that the projects were planned around the same time. He said part of the intent of creating an off-highway connection and expanding the park in this area of ​​Silverthorne was to use the park as a “great neighborhood park” for families who live in the Smith Ranch Neighborhood.

Silverthorne officials recently announced that good progress has been made on both projects, with results for the expansion expected in mid-November and the extension expected in mid-October.