UCHealth, YVMC invest in long-term employee housing.
UCHealth and Yampa Valley Medical Center have purchased a 42-unit housing development to ensure more consistent, reliable housing for its critical workforce. This is an investment in the Steamboat Springs community of nearly $30 million.
“The incredible patient care that is delivered at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center cannot happen without our most valuable resource – our staff and providers,” said Soniya Fidler, president of YVMC. “Living in Steamboat Springs and northwest Colorado presents housing challenges for many members of our team. The rental and real estate markets over the last few years have made affordable housing options difficult to come by. We know these units will provide housing stability for our employees.”
The complex, named Creek’s End for its location at the end of Walton Creek, sits on four acres of land just over a mile from the hospital campus. The development is comprised of 6 one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units within two, three-story buildings. The buildings are located at 875 Weiss Circle and 885 Weiss Circle.
Creek’s End was created by Evergreen 40, LLC, which is owned by local developers Scott Marr and Curt Weiss, and designed by Eric Smith Associates. Construction is currently underway with HLCC Construction Co. Together, YVMC and Evergreen 40, LLC will see the project through to its completion at the end of 2024.
“Curt and I have been in the community a long time and over the years, we have seen a significant change in the availability of housing,” said Marr, who has served 14 years on the Board of Trustees at YVMC. “We know how important access to health care is to the people who live here as well as those who visit this area. But, without people to deliver that care, it can’t occur. By selling Creek’s End to the hospital, we’re very hopeful access to our high level of local health care will continue for years to come.”
“Many departments throughout YVMC have had challenges recruiting and retaining staff due to a lack of housing within the community,” said Mary Wirta, manager of human resources at YVMC. “The compensation package offered by UCHealth attracts incredible talent, but when they aren’t able to find housing, that’s a problem. We’re excited to see the progress already made on Creek’s End, and can’t wait for the day when staff members will move in.”
Full-time staff at YVMC will be eligible to apply for the housing units. A weighted lottery will be conducted to allocate the units. Rent amounts will be determined according to the household’s gross income, size of household and type of unit, with subsides provided by YVMC to employees with household income of up to and including 180% AMI, or average median income.
“We’re working to align rent amounts with the common rule of thumb that only around 30% of a household’s gross monthly income should go towards housing costs,” said Fidler. “We want to not only make these housing units available to our staff, but also make them affordable, too.”
In 2022, UCHealth and YVMC approved funds for More Ranch Community Housing, a project that would provide transitional employee housing for the hospital on a lot adjacent to the City of Steamboat Springs’ approved workforce housing project. Due to lack of interest from contractors and higher than anticipated bids from the few contractors who did express interest, the project has not been able to move forward within an ideal timeframe.
“We will continue to evaluate the timing of and our ability to invest in More Ranch, as we still have a great need for transitional employee housing,” said Fidler. “Creek’s End is our opportunity to not only more than double what would have been the inventory of More Ranch, but also deliver units to our staff much sooner, which in turn helps free up other units on the market for people to rent. Any time an investment in employee housing is made, the entire community benefits.”