Town of Avon to hear about annexing nearly 100 acres to create 700 new affordable housing units

Avon is looking into taking dramatic steps to increase the amount of community housing in Eagle County.

On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Avon Town Council, along with the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission, will engage in a joint work session to hear from representatives of the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners about the proposal for the annexation of 97.6 acres of land into Avon for the creation of 700 units of affordable housing.

According to town manager Eric Heil’s notice in the Town Council meeting packet, “Eagle County has the most significant and acute shortage of workforce housing amongst the ski town communities in Colorado,” to the tune of 6,000 residential units short of what is needed.

With just over 600 units of community housing currently, this project aligns with the Avon Town Council’s recognition of housing as its top priority.

Senate Bill 23-001 in action

In May 2023, Senate Bill 23-001 was signed into effect after passing the Colorado state legislature. The bill was introduced in January 2023 by state Senator and 8^th District Rep. Dylan Roberts, inspired by this specific parcel of land, and crafted to enable partnerships between local municipalities and the state land board for the development of affordable housing.

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In 2023, representatives of the state land board have been meeting with local representatives from Eagle County about how best to progress with creating housing opportunities on the land. Avon was selected to annex the land into the town because it was deemed better to develop the land within a town, and Avon specifically was already physically connected to the parcel of land and had a system of tax and fee waivers for the development of community housing already in place.

“It’s adjacent to town already. Avon Town Council has stated that housing is the number one priority, and we’re already home to a pretty good amount of workforce housing, both deed-restricted and free market,” Heil said.

The introduction of the project is coming before Avon Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission now because of the depth of the labor it will require. “This is the type of project that’ll probably have a fairly involved annexation and development agreement, spelling out zoning and densities and water rates and payments for schools and parks and fire district and all that stuff that goes with large developments,” Heil said.

The parcel of land is 97.6 acres, abutting the eastern edge of Avon and EagleVail along U.S. Highway 6, including crossing the Eagle River.

The goal is to build a mixed-use neighborhood featuring 700 units of varied types of community housing, 60,000 square feet of commercial space, a new fire station, and parks and open space, over the course of 25 years in a series of phases. 

“We don’t know, and we haven’t decided what the right mix (of housing options) is, but we’re anticipating that that would include a mix of housing types, rental and for sale, to meet all different income levels,” Heil said.

In 2024, Avon will be working with Eagle County to redo the 2017 Eagle County housing needs assessment, using the new data to inform the types of housing the project focuses on installing.

“The 60,000 square feet is equivalent to the square footage of the spaces that exist on those parcels that are on Highway 6 (already), so it’s not an increase of commercial. It’s really in exchange for what’s already there,” said Matt Pielsticker, planning director for the town of Avon.

A tale of several timelines

According to the current planned timeline, the 97.6 acres will be annexed into Avon as soon as January or February 2024, with ground to be broken for the first phase of housing development in late 2024.

“There are three acres along the highway on the east end where there are currently, I think, 12 or 13 trailers for housing for (Colorado Department of Transportation) workers. They’re in the process of ending those leases and finding alternative housing for them. And we’re looking at that as being phase one. We’re trying to work towards potentially breaking ground on the first phase of housing, which we think might be between 80 to 100 units, maybe by the end of 2024,” Heil said.

The project is expected to take upwards of 25 years to complete in its entirety. This is in part due to some areas within the parcel being under lease encumbrances, and so unavailable for development until the leases end. Additionally, 200 of the planned 700 units are located across the Eagle River, and will require bridging the river, a significant project that alone will take a long time. The plan is to proceed “one project at a time,” Heil said.

Administratively, town of Avon staff are prepared to take on the extra work 700 units of housing, and a giant development project, will bring.

“Generally, more people causes a little more work for us and a little more work for police, or just a little more administrative work, but it doesn’t present itself as an immediate or direct cost in the town of Avon, other than the tax and fee waivers that the town’s offering,” Heil said.

The tax and fee waivers are calculated to be worth approximately $30,000 to $35,000 per unit, totaling more than $20 million in subsidy from the town of Avon for the entire project. “Because of the nature of existing leases on the property, you know, it’s not going to happen all at once. It’s going to happen over the course of 20 to 25 years,” Heil said.

Designed to be climate-conscious

“It is a stated goal in the Eagle County Climate Action Plan to try to develop more housing within five miles of where people work. And so what is really unique about this, and what is a fantastic opportunity, is that this is as central as you could get between Vail, Avon, and Beaver Creek, our largest job centers,” Heil said.

Avon recently adopted a resolution that states all future community housing should be all-electric and should strive toward net zero construction, and, if annexed into Avon, all construction on the 700 units will be held to these standards.

Additionally, as the land is based off Highway 6, it should be simple for residents to access public transportation.

“This is a huge step towards achieving climate action goals, to be able to create housing that’s closer to where the jobs are, to have it located right on transit, and to have the opportunity to build it in an all-electric and close to net zero energy efficient type of design,” Heil said.

“It is a large development for sure. And we fully expect that people will be concerned, and we want to learn about it, and we want to hear their input,” Heil said.

The joint work session between Avon Town Council and Planning and Zoning Commission will take place during the regularly scheduled Avon Town Council meeting at Avon Town Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 10, beginning at 5 p.m. The work session will have the opportunity for public comment, on Zoom and in person.