The first 19 units in Breckenridge’s “last” large-scale workforce housing neighborhood development will soon be up for grabs via the county’s lottery system. 

Summit Combined Housing Authority will open the lottery for the first 19 homes in the burgeoning Runway Neighborhood development from May 11-15, marking a key milestone in a multi-year buildout that is expected to deliver 81 workforce housing units by the end of 2028. 

“This is the last big parcel that’s owned by the town of Breck and designated for workforce housing,” said Laurie Best, the town’s longtime housing director. “It’s an exciting time for the project and for the community.” 

An open house on Wednesday, April 29, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Breckenridge Recreation Center will give prospective buyers a chance to learn about the homes, meet project partners and prepare for the application process ahead of the five-day lottery window.

Summit Combined Housing Authority runs the lottery and expects to release initial results by May 19, Best said. Those who receive high lottery numbers will then move on to a more comprehensive qualification process that requires applicants to submit employment and income information. 

Construction has been ongoing at the site off of Airport Road since August 2025. Best said crews have so far almost exclusively been working on underlying utility infrastructure like expanding water and sewer lines and paving roads. Actual homebuilding will ramp up this summer, with the first foundation slated to go up within the next month. Best said the first home could be “finished and ready for occupancy” by late December or early January if continued construction and the lottery process proceeds smoothly. 

The Runway Neighborhood sits near the town’s other recent workforce housing development, Blue 52, north of the River Park area and represents the final neighborhood to be built on usable town-owned land. Best said the town has owned the 24-acre parcel for nearly 25 years.

“Runways is kind of just the build-out of that property that was acquired a long time ago,” Best said. 

While the town is essentially “built out” in terms of developing larger neighborhoods to increase housing stock, Best said town leaders remain dedicated to finding future areas, albeit smaller, to build more diverse housing options for working Summit County residents. 

“It’s a high priority for council to figure out how we can provide opportunities for people to live in the community where they work,” she said. 

Best referred to the upcoming 19 units at Runway as “the first phase of the first phase” of housing construction. The entirety of the first phase, for which the town has pledged $34 million, entails 81 individual housing units. Best said those 81 homes will be built and sold in a series of four phases. Town officials have also discussed a future second phase of construction that would include an additional 67 units, but no decisions have been made yet. 

All units will be reserved for people who maintain employment in Summit County. Most units will also come with income caps to prevent higher earners from competing for some of the town’s most subsidized units.

“They’re not intended to be for remote workers or people that need a ski house,” Best said. 

The town partnered with Neighborhood Crafters, a Frisco-based developer led by Suzanne Allen Sabo, to develop the site. Sabo will be present at the open house on April 29.

In keeping with the town’s objective to provide diverse housing options for working residents, the first batch of 19 homes at Runway offers a range of options:

• Six two-bedroom townhomes
• Four three-bedroom townhomes
• Two duplex units
• One single-family cottage
• Four three-bedroom single-family homes
• Two four-bedroom single-family homes

Ratcheted down price points intended to cater to Summit County’s workforce

The town has framed the Runway Neighborhood as a major piece of Breckenridge’s long-term workforce housing strategy, with prices and eligibility requirements designed to prioritize the needs of low- to middle-income working families. Median home prices in Summit County sit over $2.2 million and continue to grow, outpacing salaries for many working families, according to the most recent market analysis from Land Title. Around 68% of the town’s housing stock is made up of second homes or vacation rentals, according to a countywide housing needs assessment completed in 2023. The study also found that around 60% of all renters, and 86% of Latino renters, spend over a third of their income on housing costs. 

Some townhomes in the Runway Neighborhood will start at $351,000 and larger homes with more bedrooms will reach around $800,000. Best predicts the number of residents entering the housing lottery will continue to increase as the development gains more traction. Over the next two years, Best said there will be another three lotteries open for the rest of the houses built in the first phase. 

“I know there most likely will be significantly more people interested in the units because of these price-points,” Best said. “We don’t want people panicking thinking this is their last chance to get into the lottery.” 

Best said units in the Runway Neighborhood will be some of the lowest-priced homes for sale in Breckenridge. 

“They’re our most affordable and deeply subsidized (properties),” Best said. “To get prices down to $351,000, that requires a lot of public investment.”

Best said the town has committed to spending $24 million on public utility infrastructure at the site. Town workers will later maintain the roads, water lines and other utilities in and around the neighborhood. Another $10 million will help close the gap between construction costs and attainable sales prices, while the developer covers all costs associated with building the homes. Best said around $5 million in state grants will further offset expenses. 

“The town’s super fortunate because we do have a designated housing fund,” Best said. “A lot of communities that are struggling with workforce housing don’t have a local funding stream, and up here in the High Country where the cost of construction is so expensive, it’d be impossible to do any workforce projects without local funds.” 

The town’s housing fund draws from a voter-approved sales tax adopted in 2006, which Best said generates around $7 million annually, coupled with short-term rental fees approved by voters in 2016 that bring in roughly $6.5 million each year. 

Town aims to incentivize build-out of 20 ADUs

Best said the Runway project also includes long-term strategies that the town hopes will further expand housing supply. 

The developer agreed to install 20 almost-ready accessory dwelling unit spaces above garages at single-family homes, hoping to incentivize owners to complete the interior of the units to rent out to locals.

While Breckenridge Town Council members previously requested fully building out 10 of the 20 accessory dwelling units, Best said that has since changed: all 20 units will have shells for accessory dwelling units with unfinished interiors. 

“It’s basically ready for conversion to an ADU if the owner wants that,” Best said. “Ultimately it would be our goal that all of the 20 ADUs are eventually built out.”

Best noted that the town has partnered with Summit School District on the project and plans to offer a priority process for its employees — an effort aimed at helping more local educators find stable housing. Best said more details will be revealed at the open house April 29. The project developer, representatives from Summit Combined Housing Authority and the school district will also be present. 

Before then, Best said, “The message for people right now is: if you think you are interested in buying, the very, very first thing you need to do is talk to a realtor and talk to a lender.”