GYPSUM, Colo. — At Dave and Matt Vans in Gypsum, co-founder Matt Felser says people living in vans is a lifestyle that's become more popular in recent years, and could be a way for seasonal workers to live in expensive ski resort towns.
“The local economy has gone up 4% in wages in the last 10 years,” said Felser. "Whereas rent has gone up 40%, and the price to own a home has gone up 20%."
A first-of-its-kind idea is being worked on to start a pilot program to provide a place where people could park their vans for $250 a month in Eagle.
Unlike affordable housing projects, the van life idea could be started up quickly with very little overhead and keep people from parking in places they’re not supposed to.
“We’re working with the town of Eagle,” said Felser. “There’s no overhead. With all these affordable housing projects, it takes years to go through and they need a lot of money.”
The program would start with around 12 people, but if successful, could expand and move to other expensive areas like Pitkin and Summit counties.
“We can grow it here locally,” said Felser. “Provide that blueprint for the rest of Colorado and other states in the country."
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