Tiny House Village Employee Housing Experiment
Aspen Skiing Company used shipping containers as storage units.
A few years ago, the Aspen Skiing Company began housing employees in their tiny house park. At that time (2017), I interviewed one resident and found her to be quite happy, actually ecstatic, to be living in a THOW (tiny house on wheels). Leigh, already a THOW enthusiast, said, “A tiny house for a tiny person.” Just five feet tall, she finds the tiny house to be quite roomy. Leigh is used to living alone, so she was renting the entire tiny alone for a whopping $1,350.00/mth*. Her willingness to pay that amount of rent is indicative of the housing situation in the Roaring Fork Valley. She had her own car and commuted 20 miles to the ski town of Aspen.
Leigh really liked the heated floors, but admitted she broke the heating system several times before they showed her how to use it properly. She loved cooking and found the kitchen to be adequate, but did add a large toaster oven because the microwave/convection oven just didn’t meet her needs. She considered the stairways to the loft bedrooms somewhat dangerous, and noted that some of the workmanship could have been better.
Housemates and Social Situations
At the time of this interview, the Aspen Skiing Company had not filled all of the THOWs yet. It was unclear whether they would eventually require her to accommodate roommates. I’ve been wondering what that experience would be like. When I first moved to Aspen in 1978, I went through a few rental situations and more than a few roommates. Even in a full-size house, I encountered some interesting (and not always pleasant) social situations. These THOWs are really tight quarters.
To their credit, the Aspen Skiing Company has always been forward thinking, looking for ways to be ‘green’, lower their carbon footprint, etc. At this THOW employee housing village, they have repurposed shipping containers to serve as storage lockers ($40.00/mth) and windbreaks for outdoor lounging areas. With Aspen’s critical employee shortage (due to lack of affordable housing), I can only imagine their investment has paid off handsomely.
A Year Later (2018)
I ran in to the manager of the project in the lumber store in May. He said the Ski Company looked at this year’s ski season as a success.
He said they had three minor incidences of housemates not getting along. Two of those involved the same people.
The houses worked well, but they did have many pipes freeze because they used heated water hoses to keep the exposed water pipes warm. Sadly, that product had a high failure rate. They were replaced with a better hoses, problem solved.
While the units were not 100% rented over the winter, they were already 100% rented for the summer season.
Other pages of the Tiny Life Consulting website you’ll be interested in
Prevent Freezing Water Lines In Your Tiny House
Preventing Tiny House Blow-over
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