Basalt Vista Affordable Housing Community
Basalt Vista is complete!
To address the affordable housing crisis for teachers and others essential to our community, Habitat for Humanity RFV, Roaring Fork Schools, and Pitkin County came together in innovative and unprecedented community collaboration; they built 27 homes behind Basalt High School. We are excited to announce that the Basalt Vista community is complete! All homeowners have moved into their forever homes.
We made homeownership possible for teachers and other essential workforce families
The wide gap between our region’s housing costs and actual wages makes it difficult to recruit and retain the people who help make our community safe, healthy, and thriving. Teachers are among those most impacted by this lack of affordable housing. Too often, educators end up leaving the Valley when they find they can’t make ends meet or that owning a home is out of their reach.
This problem extends to others essential to our local workforce: from first responders and healthcare workers to hospitality and retail staff to tradespeople and small business owners. To attract and retain critical personnel in our region, we need to address this vital need. If our workforce doesn’t have stability, neither does our community.
The development of Basalt Vista allowed us to take a big step in the right direction. Twenty-seven families moved into their forever homes at an affordable price, and over 35 kids have a stable place to call home.
We made Basalt Vista homes affordable to buy and own
The median home price in Pitkin County is three times more than other Colorado counties, making the availability of affordable Basalt Vista homes all the more critical for teachers and other workforce families.
2-, 3- and 4-bedrooms (1,150-1,675 sq. ft.)
Home prices: $270,000-$370,000
Home prices are determined by family income and size of household, therefore the same size unit may have different selling prices.
The homes are deed-restricted to 3% annual appreciation on the purchase price to ensure affordability for the next family while still allowing for some equity/appreciation for the initial buyer.
Housing costs in Basalt and Carbondale compared to Basalt Vista
Basalt Vista homes have an award winning design
The Basalt Vista homes earned the “Best Multi-family Home Design Award” at the annual Habitat for Humanity International Affiliate Conference in Atlanta on April 11th, 2022. Other affiliates and outside organizations voted for this award.
Basalt Vista homes are affordable to own and maintain. Each home is net-zero—they will generate more electricity than they use, resulting in utility bills that are significantly less than comparable homes.
Instead of direct fossil fuel (e.g., propane and natural gas), Basalt Vista homes are electric-powered to reduce overall emissions and energy costs. Heating/cooling and water-heating systems feature electric technology compatible with on-site solar electricity.
The first four homes served as a learning lab for Holy Cross Energy to prove their theory that it can be less expensive to vary consumer demand than it is to adjust power plant production. Basalt Vista homeowners pay as low as $14 a month, the required connection fee, for their utility bills.
Continuing to solve the affordable housing crisis in our community
We are excited to announce that Habitat for Humanity of the Roaring Fork Valley will be closing on the final two homes in May of 2022. With the community's help, we provided affordable housing to 27 families who provide essential services right here in our valley. Habitat for Humanity RFV is dedicated to continuing to solve the affordable housing crisis that our community is suffering from.
As we wrap up one project, we look forward to our next. Habitat for Humanity RFV broke ground on the new development, Wapiti Commons in Rifle, in the spring of 2022. To learn more about this new development, click the button below, and to learn more about how you can help make the dream of homeownership a reality for a local family, please contact:
Gail Schwartz, President
(970) 309-1411
Alexandra Yajko, Major Gifts Officer
(970) 379-7687
Thank you to our collaborative partners!
Each Basalt Vista home is a labor of love built by Habitat construction staff, subcontractors, volunteers, and homeowners. In the same spirit of collaboration and partnership, numerous other local companies and organizations are actively making this dream a reality.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT BASALT VISTA
Help us make homeownership possible for the people who serve our community
Your gift will promote and inspire fulfilment in the lives of Habitat homeowners,which in turn translates into the health and happiness they give back to all of us as fellow RoaringFork Valley neighbors.