Affordable Elevation Housing Solutions in Silverton
by Graham Coffey
Photos by Bridger Hoover
Recent & ongoing project by Nico Foster Construction & Design.
W
hen you walk around Durango and Silverton these days, you’re likely to notice a lot of “Help Wanted” signs on storefronts. The pandemic has created a number of issues with local labor forces, but one of the biggest hits to this area’s service industry lately has been a lack of affordable housing. With COVID-19 turning more of the world’s workforce remote than ever before, droves of professionals have fled densely populated urban areas on both coasts for small towns in desirable locales. Anyone looking for a new home would find plenty of good reasons to consider Durango, Silverton, and much of the Four Corners area. Record low interest rates and a shortage of inventory have caused housing prices in southwest Colorado to rise at record rates. From April 2020 to August 2021, the average listing price of a home in Durango rose from $420,000 to $589,000. To a professional from the Bay Area or New York
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City, those prices may seem cheap; but they’re steeper than most locals can afford. Many would-be firsttime home buyers feel like they’ll have to leave the Durango area to find a housing market in which they’d be able to purchase a home. The problem is getting worse in Durango, but in a town as small as Silverton the issue is even worse. The median home price is $600,000, and due to the size of the town there is far less inventory. Many
of the employees who work the storefronts and serve food to those who visit are forced to commute over some of the most dangerous passes in the lower 48. Brian Anderson, owner of 9318 Contracting, wants to be part of the solution to this problem, and he has teamed up with the City of Silverton to create a development of affordable housing on the west side of town. Nearly a decade ago, San Juan County was awared a grant to buy a piece of property and create affordable and attainable housing. The development was put together by the county, and deed restrictions were written, but it sat dormant for years until Anderson came knocking. “We stumbled on it when we were looking at a piece of dirt we wanted to develop and build houses on,” Anderson said. “The county said we’ve got this land, and we’re looking to develop affordable and attainable housing.” 9318 Contracting worked with Carolyn Hunter, with Context Ar-
Home recently completed by 9318 Contracting.
