Caddis Collaborative, an architecture, urban design and planning firm, is working on three workforce housing projects in mountain communities: West Eagle Housing in Eagle County, Phillips Mobile Home Park in Pitkin County and Riverfront Village in Ridgway. All three projects will provide affordable housing options to the people who live and work in the surrounding areas.
“It goes without saying that the popularity of Colorado mountain communities has been driving up housing prices and limiting the availability of affordable living for decades,” said Bryan Bowen, a principal architect with Caddis Collaborative. “These three projects represent what can be accomplished, and more of what should be done, to help the workers who are critical to the growth and success of mountain towns and resorts to continue to grow and prosper. Our firm is immersing itself in ways to be creative and bring affordable and livable homes to mountain workforces.”
West Eagle Housing
West Eagle Housing is an ongoing project with a total of 156 units, including a range of housing types, sizes and prices. The client is the Eagle County Housing and Development Authority.
The design goals are:
- Provide a sustainable neighborhood that is as sustainable as it is technically and financially possible
- Create homes that are Net Zero or Net Zero Ready
- Use healthy and environmentally responsible materials wherever possible
- Use durable, long lasting materials and systems that reduce maintenance costs
- Meet the goals of Elevate Eagle 2020, including the use of local renewable energy resources, including wind, solar, micro-hydro, biomass and geothermal
- Provide a walkable neighborhood with outdoor amenities to encourage a sustainable healthy lifestyle
- Obtain a green certification to give homeowners a chance to extend their borrowing capacity with a “Green Mortgage”
- Use sustainable measures that lower monthly costs for homeowners.
Phillips Mobile Home Park
Pitkin County Colorado is developing 38 units of workforce affordable housing along the Roaring Fork River. The design uses a cluster approach to emulate rural housing patterns and minimize the visual impact along the River. Adjacent with the Rio Grande Trail, the project has direct bike and public transit access to Aspen and towns further down valley; a unique feature of a rural development project. Homes are 2, 3 & 4 bedroom units with gorgeous south facing views of the mountains and the River. Homes will be built to the Department of Energy’s ZERH, Zero Energy Ready Homes.
Riverfront Village
Caddis has partnered with architect and friend Jim Kehoe for this multifamily 10-building housing project. The site offers a range of housing types, from flats to townhouses. The project also includes ample outdoor space, including a new river park, and one mixed-use building, to allow for some commercial use on the site. The design incorporates the continuation of a significant pedestrian connection to the town’s pedestrian river crossing. This will link directly to the residential and commercial sidewalks and pathways. The project includes 38 units consisting of 10 townhomes and 28 units of condominiums within five multifamily buildings, and a commercial component facing the main highway. The 75,000-square-foot project is all-electric and current plans for a 270,500w solar system striving for a net-zero approach in balance to usage.
