Affordable Basalt Project Sells For $12.4M

Carlsbad, California-based Virtu Investments has purchased the Willits Seven Apartments in Basalt in a deal valued at $12.4M.

The 50-unit income-restricted property at 979 East Valley Road, about 20 miles northwest of Aspen, offers housing for residents living and working in the Roaring Fork Valley.

“In Colorado, we have multifamily investment properties located all throughout the state, not just along the Front Range,” said CBRE Capital Markets Vice President Matthew Barnett, who, with Jake Young, Dan Woodward and David Potarf, represented seller Platform Investments of Fairway, Kansas. “Developments like Willits Seven, which combine targeted affordability to high-quality design and walkability, are good candidates for stable occupancy, making the property an excellent long-term investment.”

Completed in 2017, Willits Seven offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom units with an average size of 660 SF. The apartments are within the Willits Town Center, a new 360K SF mixed-use development that serves as the main commercial hub for the Roaring Fork Valley. The town center has public transit, office, hotel, healthcare, grocery, dining and shopping all within walking distance of Willits Seven.

Willits Seven is part of Basalt’s community housing program, meaning the rents are initially set by the town and income from the rentals is capped to a 3% annual growth rate.

“People associate ski resort towns with extremely high housing costs while failing to recognize the underlying demand from the workforce for affordable housing,” Barnett said. “Areas like Aspen/Basalt benefit from smart development like Willits Seven that meets the needs of the community.”