100% WORKFORCE HOUSING

Building Stability for the Roaring Fork Valley

Your Friends. Your Coworkers. Your Community.
EJ Crossing residents are part of daily life in the Roaring Fork Valley, and most likely your life, too.

EJ Crossing, a 100% workforce housing project, could be your future home and will house your coworkers, clients, gym buddies, favorite baristas, and friends.

Most importantly, this project does not create a new population – it stabilizes the one that is already here, already serving, and already at risk of being priced out.

The Challenge

A Broken Housing Market

For people who make their living in the Roaring Fork Valley, the free market has failed. Housing prices are no longer tied to local wages but to the purchasing power of second-home buyers, investors, and wealth generated outside the valley.

That leaves only one realistic solution:
build workforce-only housing at a scale that
matches the problem.

Projects like EJ Crossing—located where growth is planned, transit is available, and compact, multi-family housing makes sense—are essential if the Roaring Fork Valley is serious about solving its housing crisis.

Learn More About the Challenge

The Plan

More Than Housing – A Place to Grow Roots

100% of EJ Crossing homes are reserved for the workforce, with homes for a mix of income levels and household sizes.

It is designed to be a true neighborhood, where kids play, people gather, and neighbors become friends for decades to come. All 163 units are for people who work for local employers. No unit will be a second home, an investment property, or a short-term rental.

Aspen One is leading the planning and engaging other local employers to participate. The application subdivides the site into 17 parcels so employers of different sizes can take part, and through partnerships with employers, school districts, governments, first responders, and other organizations, all homes will support workforce housing needs throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

Learn More About the Plan

Workforce Housing

The Goal Isn’t Profit – It’s a Stable Workforce

Employers don’t build workforce housing to make money; they build it because they can’t operate without people.

Wages cannot keep pace with housing costs, so organizations across the Roaring Fork Valley have had to invest directly in housing as part of the infrastructure needed to support not only their workforce, but their families as well. Like healthcare, retirement benefits, or training, workforce housing is a significant employer expense. The investment pays off through lower turnover, stronger recruitment, and a stable workforce.

Learn Why Workforce Housing Works

Location + Legacy

Honoring the Crawford Legacy

The EJ Crossing property has been planned and zoned for housing for decades.

The Crawford family has approached land ownership with a multigenerational commitment to the community. That commitment dates back to 1964, when they provided housing for federal employees building the Ruedi Dam, one of the valley’s earliest workforce housing efforts. Their more recent contributions include working directly with Pitkin and Eagle Counties and the U.S. Forest Service to facilitate a land swap for the 124-acre Crown Mountain Park, which is now a valley-wide open-space gem. They also continued the legacy of workforce housing by providing more than 350 workforce housing units in El Jebel.

The Crawfords are in the process of selling the property to Aspen One because of the company’s commitment to 100% workforce housing that honors the family’s long-standing vision for the land.

Learn more about the Crawford legacy »

“We have had many offers on that property, but we do not need another Tree Farm or Willits. We need workforce housing. Government-subsidized housing can only do so much. We need the private sector to step up and provide affordable housing options. When Aspen One approached us with putting in 100% workforce housing, we were excited to work with them on this project. No one else is doing this other than us.”
– Robert Hubbell, Floyd Crawford’s Grandson and Manager of Crawford Properties, LLC

The Facts

What

100% workforce housing, 163 homes for year-round, long-term valley employees, restricted to employees of valley employers, including ski industry workers, firefighters, teachers, restaurant workers, bus drivers, and more.

Why

The free market no longer produces homes local workers can afford; permanently workforce-restricted housing is the only solution moving forward.

How

100% privately funded with no market-rate homes, continuing the Crawford family’s long-held vision for the property.

Where

A site planned and zoned for multifamily housing, located on the valley’s primary transit corridor.

FAQs

Is 163 housing units allowed by Eagle County?

Yes, this 20.4-acre site is zoned Residential Suburban Medium Density (RSM). This zoning is designed for moderate-density development in or near community centers where transit and utilities exist, and by-right allows for single-family, duplex, and multi-family homes, as well as small convenience commercial uses.

Why does the community need EJ Crossing?

EJ Crossing is not designed to bring new people to the valley. It is designed to house people who already live and work here. The Roaring Fork Valley is short thousands of homes for its existing workforce. Workers who have secure housing are retiring in place, making it harder for employers to recruit and retain replacements at current free-market prices. Without new workforce housing, employers, schools, healthcare providers, emergency services, and local businesses will continue to face staffing challenges. The cost of inaction is longer commutes, higher turnover, and continued pressure on community services.

The landowner, Crawford Properties, has owned this property for decades and has a long history of supporting workforce housing and community benefits throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. They always intended this site to become workforce housing and wish to work with Aspen One because of its commitment to that vision. The property is zoned Residential Suburban Medium Density (RSM), allowing 163 residential units by right. Whether developed by Aspen One or another owner, this land is planned and zoned for housing.

Will EJ Crossing actually be affordable, and will it house the workforce?

EJ Crossing will be unlike any other project in the valley. It will be the biggest private employer-driven investment in workhouse housing ever undertaken in the Roaring Fork Valley. There will be no market-rate housing, no vacant/second homes, and no short-term rentals (STRs).

All 163 units are restricted to employees of Roaring Fork Valley employers, and continued employer participation is secured through a first right of purchase. Twenty-one units carry a deed restriction held by Eagle County, with rents price-capped for households earning 80%–100% of Area Median Income (AMI). The remaining 142 are restricted to local workforce occupancy but are not additionally restricted by income, serving households from below 80% AMI up to 250% AMI or more, the level at which a family or employee in this valley can finally buy on the open market.

As the valley’s largest private employer, Aspen One will lead development of the property and a large portion of the units will be made available to Aspen One employees and their families. Additional units will be made available to other community partners struggling to house their own employees. Those conversations are ongoing and may include public entities such as fire, school, recreation, and hospital districts, as well as other private employers and small businesses. EJ Crossing will indeed be a 100% workforce project and ultimately embody a healthy cross section of what makes our valley so vibrant.