NORWOOD, Colo. (July 14 – 2022) – Bulldozers are hard at work south of Norwood’s Lone Cone Library, developing a site for 24 new deed-restricted homes that will be sold to the local workforce by October. The home buying process for the new neighborhood, known locally as Pinion Park, is well underway. Over 100 families have expressed interest. Veterans of the industry know that this is the toughest construction market in recent memory. With material costs and labor shortages, home prices have skyrocketed. The dwindling supply of new homes for sales, along with high mortgage interest rates, have combined to create a local, state, and national housing crisis.
Pinion Park in Norwood is the first project of Rural Homes, an initiative of the Telluride Foundation. Rural Homes is addressing the housing crisis locally with an innovative approach to building homes priced for the local workforce. “The affordable housing model being developed for the Pinion Park project is innovative not only in its approach to construction, design, and affordability, but also with its forward-thinking solutions to address energy efficiency,” said Jason Corzine, CEO and President of the Telluride Foundation. “The Rural Homes team has truly created a model that can be replicated throughout our region to address important housing supply issues.”
The model is attacking the underlying cost of building homes by acquiring donated land and combining that with low-cost financing and efficient factory built modular home construction. In the case of Pinion Park in Norwood, San Miguel County provided the critical donation of the land. Low-cost construction financing has been raised from local donors, statewide foundations, along with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and Division of Housing. Finally, Rural Homes has partnered with the new Fading West modular home factory in Buena Vista for the various home styles and configuration in Pinion Park.
Although still in the early stage of construction, Rural Homes is announcing the homes prices for the homes in Pinion Park today. Pinion Park in Norwood consists of 4-home types that are being built by Fading West. Homes will be priced for sale starting at $225,000 for a two-bedroom, two bath 1,024 square foot home; $325,000 for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom 1,216 square foot home, and an average of $385,000 for a 3 bed, 3 bath with an attached garage. Home prices include preinstalled access to fiber broadband, efficient air source heat-pump air conditioning, rooftop solar, energy star certified GE appliances, and easy installation of electric vehicle charging. Prices for each home and lot can be found at https://www.pinionparknorwood.co
In addition to affordable prices, Rural Homes has developed partnerships to assist qualified buyers with down payment assistance and specialized mortgage products. Please visit the Pinion Park website for lender information and mortgage products available.
The Pinon Park lottery application deadline is August 31, and the lottery will be conducted on September 22. Buyer closing and move-in is targeted for late October and early November. Please visit the project website for more information where you can sign up as an interested buyer: https://www.pinionparknorwood.co. More information on down payment assistance and mortgage products can be found at the Norwood Pinion Park web site at https://www.pinionparknorwood.co/mortgage-products
About Rural Homes
Rural Homes is an initiative of the Telluride Foundation, which is a community foundation based in southwestern Colorado that makes grants and runs programs in arts, education, health and human services, community development, and social enterprises. Rural Homes operates under the Telluride Foundation’s affiliate nonprofit, the Paradox Community Trust. Currently Rural Homes has one project under construction in Norwood and is planning to construct neighborhoods in Ridgway and Ouray, which combined will bring over 75 affordable homes to the region in coming years. For more information, please send an email to info@ruralhomesproject.co, or visit our website at https://www.ruralhomes.co/
