A 2022 needs assessment by the Chaffee County Housing Authority identified an urgent need for 1,105 new homes by 2027. This housing deficit is already creating a significant strain, leaving many local workers struggling to find reliable housing. In response to this crisis, real estate professional Paul Andrews is developing The Crossing, a 16-acre neighborhood designed to provide sustainable, long-term, and attainable housing for the local workforce.
Working closely with the Chaffee Housing Trust and the Chaffee Housing Authority and with financing from Collegiate Peaks Bank, Andrews’ vision for The Crossing is focused on increasing the community’s supply of attainable housing. The Crossing has accomplished this by committing 50 percent of the first phase of homes to being permanently deed-restricted for Chaffee County residents. In practice, that means homes can only be sold to local buyers at capped prices, ensuring they stay within reach of working families rather than being lost to the open market.
The impact has been twofold: families have options to actually live where they work, and the organizations themselves become stronger. In addition, the Housing Trust will double its portfolio through The Crossing, making it more financially stable and better equipped to serve residents in the future. The Housing Authority, will also receive ongoing revenue and management fees from the apartment building planned within the neighborhood, giving it resources to keep addressing the housing crisis long after the first units are built.
The Crossing is designed to be much more than a collection of houses. From its earliest sketches, the vision was to build a neighborhood that felt authentic, livable, and lasting. Parks and green spaces were placed at the center, not the margins. Trails ring the property, connecting to town and inviting residents to bike, walk, and gather outdoors. The homes themselves are designed to be distinctive, attractive, and welcoming. Even multi-unit housing is designed with specific intention. The planned apartments are distributed across five smaller structures so residents feel like part of the neighborhood.
“The first block we’re building is all affordable housing,” explains Paul. “Most developers push that to the back corner and build it last. We’re leading with it because that’s what the community needs most.”
A vision this ambitious requires more than good ideas: it needs steady, flexible financial backing. For Paul, that partner has been Collegiate Peaks Bank.
“From the earliest stages, we were able to provide stability and consistency to keep the project moving forward,” said Joe Smith of Collegiate Peaks Bank. “In addition to providing critical, financing for infrastructure, the bank also processed draws to pay contractors, issued letters of credit to guarantee work, and extended lines of credit that bridged the gaps until state grant funding came through. Later, when low-interest loans from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority became available for lower-income homes, the bank stepped in again to finance construction not covered by those programs. We also supported the purchase of additional land for the project’s Phase Two and are preparing to finance the next set of market-rate homes.”
The Crossing’s first phase is well underway, but Paul’s vision doesn’t stop there. A state-of-the-art grocery store is planned next door — a major upgrade for the entire region — and Phase Two will incorporate commercial spaces into the neighborhood. Paul envisions a food hall where beloved food trucks can grow into year-round businesses, offices for local accountants and insurance providers, and even health and wellness spaces.
“It’s about building more than homes,” Paul says. “It’s about creating a community where people can live, work, and connect. That’s what makes a town thrive.”
Collegiate Peaks Bank is committed to supporting the communities it serves and has made it an important part of the company culture. The bank’s employees donate their time and effort to causes that help to build a strong community spirit and contribute to the success of the businesses, organizations and individuals around them.
Our Bank was founded in the mid 1980’s by a group of local Community Members in Buena Vista, Colorado. The Bank was acquired by Glacier Bancorp, Inc. on February 1, 2018. The bank is now a division of Glacier Bank, a regional bank holding. Glacier Bank provides commercial banking services in 156 communities through 227 banking offices. Glacier Bank was named #7 in United States of World’s Best Banks by Forbes (now 5 consecutive years (2020-2024).
Collegiate Peaks Bank continues to cultivate strong relationships within the communities we live and work by emphasizing personalized service combined with the full resources of a larger banking organization.
Glacier Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered in Kalispell, Montana with operating divisions including the Altabank (American Fork, UT), Bank of the San Juans (Durango, CO), Citizens Community Bank (Pocatello, ID), Collegiate Peaks Bank (Buena Vista, CO), First Bank of Montana (Lewistown, MT), First Bank of Wyoming (Powell, WY), First Community Bank Utah (Layton, UT), First Security Bank (Bozeman, MT), First Security Bank of Missoula (Missoula, MT), First State Bank (Wheatland, WY), Glacier Bank (Kalispell, MT), Heritage Bank of Nevada (Reno, NV), Mountain West Bank (Coeur d’Alene, ID), North Cascades Bank (Chelan, WA), The Foothills Bank (Yuma, AZ), Valley Bank of Helena (Helena, MT), and Western Security Bank (Billings, MT). Our bank serves individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, community organizations and public entities. We pursue a community banking philosophy, emphasizing personalized service combined with the full resources of a larger banking organization.
More information regarding Collegiate Peaks Bank is available at www.collegiatepeaksbank.com.
