SOUTH FORK – When it comes to workforce housing throughout Colorado, there are only a handful of communities like the one in South Fork that offer genuine workforce housing and according to co-developer Tammy Dorsett, this is a chance for people to own a home and be successful at it.
For the past year, South Fork has watched as the new Sawmill Meadows affordable housing project began to rise from the ground and now, thanks to a mild winter, a beautiful spring, the first phase of homes are looking for owners.
“When potential buyers go through this process, the first thing we like for them to understand is that the process is designed to make you a successful homeowner. We always try to tell people that want to apply that these homes were made so that someone who never thought homeownership was a possibility could find that they are the perfect match,” said Dorsett.
The process for buying one of the homes in Sawmill Meadows is through the San Luis Valley Housing Authority which offers programs to employed residents of the Valley that fall within certain income guidelines. San Luis Valley Housing Authority Executive Director Dawn Melgares oversees the process and helps each applicant through it while ensuring that the home loan is within their income.
“The process takes work, but it is worth it in the end. Homeowners get the chance to lay down roots in the community and are able to afford something that can be passed on from generation to generation. It is a daunting process when you don’t know, but at the end of the day, there is nothing like being a homeowner,” said Dorsett.
Sawmill Meadows Workforce Housing is now available for purchase in the San Luis Valley through a coordinated effort between Sawmill Meadow Development, the Town of South Fork, and the State of Colorado Dept. of Local Affairs. Each have partnered to construct Phase 1 of a two-phase workforce housing development.
According to developer Matt Dorsett, Tammy’s husband, the project is nearing the completion of Phase 1 and will be moving into Phase 2 by the end of the summer. Dorsett also plans to develop rental workforce housing in the future.
Through the many efforts of Dorsett in partnership with the South Fork Housing Task Force and the South Fork Town Board of Trustees, the project got off the ground in the fall of 2023 and will provide 20 low-income workforce housing for the area which follows the housing study done a year prior by the San Luis valley Housing Coalition.
Dorsett has been working diligently to bring workforce housing to the area since he and his family relocated to the area three years ago and after learning of the housing crisis, decided to use his experience to see that a project moved forward.
To make this opportunity a reality, Sawmill Meadow Development forged a business relationship with Fading West in Buena Vista which has been a pioneer of workforce housing in Colorado with their innovative approach to modular home construction, utilizing high-quality materials with an efficient and standardized approach to construction.
