300 South Spring Street, Suite 202, Aspen, CO 81611 | 970.429.7499
to
Board of County Commissioners
from
Sheri Sanzone, Executive Director and Board Member
date
19 July 2016
project name
Aspen Pitkin Employee Housing Inc (APEHI)
subject
APEHI BOCC Update
copy to
APEHI Board Members, Kyle Kappeli—Preferred Property Management, Michael Vernon and Suzanne
Vernon—Michael Vernon and Company, project files
Update Purpose The purpose of this memo is to update the BOCC on APEHI, Hunter Longhouse, and other efforts APEHI is pursuing to further its mission. This memo is not requesting BOCC action or funding. Who is APEHI? Aspen Pitkin Employee Housing Inc, or APEHI, is a non‐profit corporation whose mission is to promote the preservation and development of attainable housing in the Roaring Fork Valley. The founding and early members included Dr. Bob Oden, a long time sports medicine physician with Aspen Orthopedic Associates, and Harry Truscott, an affordable housing advocate who is widely recognized as a leader in Pitkin County and Aspen's affordable housing program. Current board members are Wayne Stryker, Sheri Sanzone, Dean Filiss, Paul Menter, and Tim Whitsitt. What is APEHI's Relationship with the BOCC and Our Recent Land Lease Renewal? In the late 1970s, the founders of APEHI approached Pitkin County with a proposal‐‐provide land to the organization for little or no cost and we will build and manage affordable housing on the property. The BOCC agreed and made a portion of the former Aspen Hospital site available under a long‐term lease. APEHI constructed the Hunter Longhouses, 28 1‐ and 2‐bedroom units, using for the time cutting‐edge modular and solar technologies. The Annex of five townhouse residences was built a few years later to respond to new residents' need for family‐style units. In 2014, The BOCC and APEHI reaffirmed our successful partnership by renewing the land lease for Hunter Longhouse for another 40 years. The renewal came soon after APEHI retired the debt on the buildings and ushered in a new era of reinvestment in the property. What's Currently Underway and What's Next? We began an extensive unit remodel program and will complete the last four units within the coming year. The units have been remodeled only as a part of resident turnovers, undertaken with the intent of minimizing disruption to residents. In some cases, residents have voluntarily moved to a newly remodeled unit so that their former one can be remodeled. Page 1 of 2 www.apehousing.org Our largest remodel to date is scheduled to be completed this Fall. We will replace the solar vaults that enclose the corridors to the 2nd‐floor units and storage areas for the Longhouses. The vaults have been repaired many times to prevent leaks and overheating and have now reached the end of their useful life. We are also taking the opportunity to address some other concerns. The current solar vaults shed snow and water in front of the doors of the 1st‐floor residences. The proposed design includes a flat roof that will hold snow on the roof and internally drains snowmelt and runoff. Additional storage areas are also included, nearly doubling the size of the existing storage areas. Plans to build the project in a way that minimizes tenant impacts are currently being fine‐tuned, and we will host a barbecue later this summer to thank residents in advance of construction beginning. We have hired an owner’s representative, Ring Development Services, who will work with our property manager, Preferred Property Services, as resident liaisons. APEHI is accomplishing these significant improvements with minimal rent increases. Rental rates for Hunter Longhouse are consistently lower than the rates of similar properties in Aspen. There were many years when the Board chose not to increase rents or to increase rents at a lesser amount than what the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority recommended. While we operate under the qualification rules for a Category 3 designation, our units are not deed restricted under the APCHA program. This year, we will raise monthly rents five percent to $868 for a 1‐bedroom unit, $1,144 for a 2‐bedroom unit, and $1,336 for a 2‐bedroom annex unit, to help offset the costs of our substantial reinvestment in the property. For context, the average monthly rent for a Category 3 1‐
bedroom unit in the affordable housing inventory is $1,282, and $1,715 for a Category 3 2‐bedroom unit. APEHI is also looking for another project to develop and/or preserve affordable housing. In the past, we have facilitated projects for others to complete, including Trainors Landing in Aspen. We are ready for a new opportunity now that Hunter Longhouse's reinvestment is nearly complete. Page 2 of 2 www.apehousing.org