r/grandjunction • u/governorPolis • 5d ago

72-unit workforce housing development breaks ground in Grand Junction

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Great to see the Grand Junction Sentinel highlighting the progress we're making to build more workforce housing in Grand Junction.

Every Coloradan needs a place to live. Building more homes people can afford near job centers means more opportunity for families and businesses to thrive.

Read more: https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/gov-polis-attends-groundbreaking-for-grand-junction-workforce-housing/article_6f86602a-1128-43e1-9b97-01de0944bf28.html

32 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

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9

u/vertical_letterbox 5d ago

Please stay out Mesa County, governor - you’ve done enough, thanks. 

1

u/spizzle_ 5d ago

Polis? Or the “governor” of Mesa county?

4

u/vertical_letterbox 5d ago

Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, who is the OP of this post. 

4

u/spizzle_ 5d ago

Holy shit I missed that. My bad. Fuck, polis! The dude is trash!

2

u/Sea_Excitement_7602 4d ago

Wonder if he met up with tiny peters and had that pillow guy join them for lunch?

2

u/straymormon 5d ago

This project is government‑subsidized, so it makes sense to plan a follow‑up review about five years after the first tenants move in to see whether it’s actually strengthening the community, which it won't.. How long will the subsidy last? A development like this will need ongoing care and oversight for many years.I grew up in Grand Junction, and now I live near a major metropolitan area out east. I’ve seen similar projects turn into high‑crime neighborhoods once the government‑subsidized businesses leave and the funding dries up. That pattern is exactly why long‑term projects like this fails. It makes people feel better without addressing the reality.

2

u/TechyT3ch 4d ago

How would you actually address it?

2

u/straymormon 3d ago

I actually don't know. The headlines are only snip its of the real story. The devil is in the details. And we don't have those. If the property, as indicated above, is inspected yearly, what is the real consequences to the owners that don't fix things? Also, if the owners go bankrupt, or the shell company does, what recourse does anyone have. If the money is not there, or the owner is anticipating this, he will protect himself financially. No one is building this out of the kindness of their heart, or you wouldn't need government subsidy.

2

u/EmPowCo 3d ago

That's old school thinking.  I'm not involved in this project and I didn't know how it will do, but if you look around town generally you'll see the rental projects that are restricted affordable are often the best kept up in town.  They get inspected by funding agencies at least once a year sometimes more often and every little thing gets written up.  Most of them have required replacement reserves that they have to fund a part of their mortgage payments.  Market rate rentals don't have to be inspected at all and can just as easily fall into disrepair if the property owners don't constantly reinvest (which no one makes them do).

2

u/straymormon 3d ago

This is all speculation on both our parts. Wait 5 years, look at the property, look at police reports and see if this experiment works. Old thinking or not, the proof will be in the long term view

1

u/EmPowCo 3d ago

Fair point, no one knows the future of this project. But you don't have to wait five years to see how similar projects have fared and there are many in town.  I'm especially sensitive to any suggestion that housing for low and modest income people automatically draws crime, being someone who works on affordable housing and has to fight that bias to do my job. The city's gis site is a good resource for this if anyone is interested in looking at crime locations compared to different properties and property types.