In Grand County, where the lack of attainable housing continues to strain the local workforce, a new development in Granby is collaborating with local partners to bring a community-led housing project to life.

The proposed Ten Mile Crossing project, led by Habitat for Humanity of Grand County, aims to bring 28 attainable housing units to families earning roughly 60% to 100% of Grand County’s area median income. Beyond the homes themselves, what sets the project apart is the group bringing it together: a largely local team of architects and engineers.

Granby-based architecture firm MA Studios joined the effort after years of volunteering with Habitat on smaller, single-family builds. When the organization began exploring a larger-scale development, the firm agreed to come on board at a reduced rate, according to its founder and principal architect, Scott Munn.

“That’s important to me,” Munn said. “Every dollar that doesn’t go into a consultant’s pocket can go back into getting these homes built.”

The rest of the team includes local engineering partners and a Colorado-based modular builder, Fading West, which is expected to help streamline construction. While not every piece of the project is local, much of the planning, design and coordination is rooted in Grand County.

However, because construction costs are typically not covered by profit generated from affordable home sales, projects like Ten Mile Crossing become nearly impossible without funding support from local or state government sources, Munn said.

“There’s too big of a financial gap without additional support, whether it’s state, town or county-wide support, for these projects,” he said. “It really takes everyone pointing in the same direction.”

The Ten Mile Crossing neighborhood development is expected to include three-bedroom units designed for working families, Habitat for Humanity Grand County’s executive director, Lisa Cooper, told Sky-Hi News. Whether serving workers in trades or the service industry, Habitat’s goal is to create stable, long-term housing for those who live and work in the county, she said.

A similar project MA Studios is involved with has already shown promise in Grand Lake. A publicly supported attainable housing and makerspace project, the Space to Create, is nearing completion with minimal debt, Munn said. That success offers a potential roadmap for future efforts in the region.

Residents earning 80–140% of the area median income are the target demographic for the Space to Create, a mixed-use creative campus designed for locals to live and work at a nearby makerspace. Currently, nine housing units are accepting applications, and on May 23, Rocky Mountain Folk School plans to open the Grand Spirit Makerspace, according to a recent social media post by the Grand Lake Creative District.

As housing challenges persist across Grand County, MA Studios hopes to continue partnerships on projects like Ten Mile Crossing and the Space to Create. These projects stand as examples of what’s possible when local expertise and nonprofit leadership come together with a shared goal, Munn said.