Telluride, Colorado- The housing crisis in ski towns like Telluride is no secret. The remote mountain town has minimal real estate listings, and the available ones are only financially viable options for the wealthy. In terms of the rental markets, one-bedroom units average around $4000-5000 a month.
Moody’s Investors Service explained to Bloomberg why the cost of living is so high in Telluride right now.
“The district is a second-home destination for the very wealthy. This, coupled with an influx of residents seeking an outdoor lifestyle during the pandemic, is driving a high cost of living and challenging the district’s ability to recruit and retain teachers.”
So what can these mountain towns do to help keep essential workers around? According to Bloomberg, one of the solutions is bonds.
Two weeks ago, the Telluride School District R-1 borrowed $31.8 million, half of which will be used to pay for 25 workforce housing units. And before that, the Telluride School District borrowed $2.5 million to create workforce housing units. Currently, the school district provides housing for 10% of teachers and aims to get that number to 1/3. The base rents amount to 25% of the teacher’s salary.
The town of Telluride has also used this strategy. Last month, the town of Telluride borrowed $9 million, part of which will go to creating affordable housing by refurbishing a building. Back in 2022, they approved spending $27 million to finance a building consisting of 27 affordable housing units. This technique has been used in vacation towns like Nantucket, Vail, and Wellfleet.
This method is something more mountain towns should consider, but its scope appears to be limited, as these are costly endeavors. Maybe the rich people that suck the resources out of these places should chip in and help out with the housing crisis.
Image Credits: Telluride Ski Resort (Featured Image), Jesse Paul (Header Image), Cole Marshall
