Billionaire Drives Down Rents in Colorado's Glitzy Steamboat Springs
- Editor OGN Daily
- 19 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Locals are being priced out of the rental market in this Rocky Mountains ski resort, so a billionaire has stepped in to help level the playing field for community workers.
The pandemic flipped the ski town's real estate market upside down, nearly doubling average housing prices to $1.2 million as remote workers, second-home buyers and short-term rental investors moved in, according to Axios.
The small town, roughly 156 miles away from Denver, has been home to billionaire Mark Stevens since 2020. The 65-year-old is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and declared his commitment to philanthropy in 2019. Happily for local residents he has continued to make good on this promise by purchasing two apartment buildings in Steamboat Springs for $100 million and making them available exclusively to community workers at affordable rates.
One of the apartment buildings is a 64,000-square-foot development on about an acre of land, and another is a 42,000-square-foot building on a half-acre.
Those eligible to move in need at least one household member who works 30 hours or more per week in Yampa Valley and has income equal to or higher than twice the monthly rent.
One such person was Anna Allsberry, a school counselor and volleyball coach at Steamboat Springs High School. She had her rent drop from $3,100 to $2,050 after she was approved for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment in one the apartment buildings. 'The prices seemed too good to be true,' Allsberry told Realtor.com. 'A lot of people even thought it was some kind of scam.' Fortunately not.
The two apartment buildings are designed to support locals who make Steamboat thrive, just as Anna Allsberry does, by offering comfort, convenience, and connection - according to the apartments' website.