A portion of the Sitzmark South project will be dedicated to attainable housing for the workforce in the Fraser Valley. The building will be constructed at the southeast intersection of Telemark Drive and US Highway 40.

“This is still in the initial stages, so everything is still a work in progress,” said Winter Park Housing Coordinator John Crone. “We will be ironing out all of the details over the coming year.”

The project is currently designed with 31 two-bedroom units and eleven one-bedroom units. The units will be distributed throughout three buildings. All of the units will have balconies, reserved parking and there will be secured storage for all of the tenants’ toys and gear.

All forty-two units will be dedicated to workforce housing. The exact definition of what is required to be eligible for workforce housing still needs to be determined. At the least, it will require that the apartments serve as the primary residence of the tenant and that the tenants’ primary place of employment is in the Fraser Valley. As the owner and landlord for the property, the town of Winter Park will enforce the workforce requirements through specific language in the lease and active monitoring of the tenants’ continued compliance.

There will be an application process.

“As of this time, the guidelines for selection have not been set,” Crone said. “However, it is very likely that income will play a role in the selection of tenants. It is our hope that these apartments can help serve as a transition into homeownership.”

Winter Park will probably start accepting applications at the beginning of summer 2017. Until that time, residents should fill out the General Housing Waitlist Application available on the Town’s website. Once that application is completed the Town will keep applicants informed as they move forward. They are anticipating that the units will be completed by September 2017. Most of the leases will likely begin in October or November.

“We are very proud of this project and feel that it is a good start to providing the workforce housing that will ensure the economic and social sustainability of Winter Park,” Crone said. “That being said, this project is only a start. If we want to maintain and enhance the sense of community that we value in Winter Park, we need to continue to construct a range of housing covering a range of economic and social needs. New construction is needed both to catch up to our current needs and to keep up with future development.”