In May, the Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board hosted several speakers on the housing issue during their monthly Zoom meeting. Chair Myles Crane introduced Partnership for Age Friendly Communities Exec Director Lorye McLeod, who discussed the housing projects in Fort Collins. Several council representatives attended the May meeting.
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Deanna O’Connell with UCHealth discussed the health care staff shortages and challenges during the COVID pandemic, and poor treatment of healthcare workers by the public who had sick relatives or lost their relatives due to COVID.
Sue Ballou, Katy Mason, and Ted Shepard with PAFC Housing Committee discussed the housing shortage and challenges, but also explained the four committees on Mobility & Access, Health & wellness, Culture on Aging, and Affordable Housing. Ted discussed shortage of middle hosing, including duplexes, fourplexes or more units for low-income residents.
Mary Roberts, a local realtor discussed the reasons for higher costs for homes or middle homes in general, due to rising costs of land and higher building costs versus the local population increase. Until a recession hits or higher interest rates, costs keep increasing on homes, groceries, and other staple items. A home several years ago sold for $300K now sells for $500K.
Sue Beck Ferkiss, the city’s home programs manager, explained their goal of adding more affordable homes, as incomes don’t match rising home costs, and rentals getting more expensive as investors take over the available homes for rental use. Since 2000, the city has added 120 affordable units per year, but need to double that to meet demand by 2040. Even mobile home parks are being taken over by profiteering investors. The State Demographer says an economic slowdown is coming soon. One advantage is the use of land trusts and land banks for keeping costs down for affordable homes. Thanks to the Senior Advisory Committee for their extensive report!