In the past decade, Kaili Hansen’s living situation has been precarious to say the least.

The Ouray Brewery cook lived in a house on Second Street for a while, and then moved into another apartment in a building that sold, so she had to get out. Then she lived in a camper for two years, and in a van for another two years. She made it back to an apartment, but at 31 years old, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to afford to secure a stable place to live.

But a tiny red ball with her number on it changed her circumstances last week.

Hansen’s name was one of nine drawn last week in a lottery to determine who received first dibs on purchasing a home in the affordable Waterview Homes development, which includes 21 homes in its first phase of construction. It is Ouray’s first large-scale affordable housing project.

She and her partner, Marco Nandin, hope to secure one of the Waterview homes priced at $359,000, which is in their price range. Nandin, who grew up in Ouray and returned during the pandemic, also works at the brewery and said he’s excited about having a permanent home.

In this case, the lottery wasn’t so much about who would be selected for a chance to buy a home – since there were only nine participants for 17 homes. It’s more about having the first pick of homes that work with each potential buyer’s financial situation.

“We’re really lucky to get selected early because only a few of these would work for us,” Hansen said. “We hope everyone else is as lucky to get into a place that they can afford.”

The couple joined a small crowd gathered to watch the lottery on July 17, held in the San Juan Room of the Ouray Community Center.

Jim Kolnik, eligibility specialist with Impact Development Services, helps Ouray resident
Francie Tisdel prepare to draw numbers from the spinner during the lottery for Waterview Homes on July 17.
Erin McIntyre – Ouray County Plaindealer

The tiny red balls chosen from the spinner by Ouray resident Francie Tisdel gave the prospective buyers a place in line to work with Rural Homes, the developer of Waterview, and Impact Development Fund, a community development financial institution contracted to help vet qualified applicants and secure home financing.

“We’re really excited to build these houses,” Rural Homes Operations Manager Sheamus Croke said before the balls were drawn. “It’s a challenge to develop, but we’d rather not do it any other place.”

Curtis Berger’s name was drawn three places after Hansen and Nandin. The director of operations at Twin Peaks Lodge & Hot Springs has been scouting for a place to buy for two years. The only other place that was within his price range was a yurt on Log Hill Mesa.

The 33-year-old applied for a two-bedroom, $399,000 triplex and was optimistic he’d be able to close on the purchase.

Curtis Berger, pictured in the center, waits during the lottery for the Waterview Homes project. Erin McIntyre – Ouray County Plaindealer

The Waterview lottery actually consisted of two drawings. The first was for six residents who met all the deed restriction qualifications, such as income limits and employment within Ouray County. The second was for three additional names consisting of applicants who needed an exemption to the deed restrictions.

Of the 21 homes being built in the first phase, only 17 were included in the lottery drawing because four were presold. Two were sold to Ouray County employees because the county contributed $500,000 to the project. Two others will be purchased by Care Access Real Estate, a real estate investment trust that will lease the units to in-home child care providers.

Rural Homes and Bright Futures, the regional early childhood council, are teaming up to offer a 13-week online accelerator program to candidates who have expressed interest in offering inhome child care. Croke said three people are currently going through the program. They’ll be interviewed at the conclusion, with two selected. If all three are determined to be qualified, a lottery drawing similar to the one conducted last week for the broader Waterview development will then be conducted to select the two.

The partnership to offer in-home daycare services within an affordable housing development is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

Last week’s lottery drawing went off without a hitch, unlike last year’s drawing for the Wetterhorn Homes project in Ridgway, when lottery hosts accidentally excluded one of the entries. That forced a redraw.

Now that the lottery is complete, Waterview is open to anyone who fills out a deed restriction application. Prospective homebuyers will be considered in the order in which they apply.

Francie Tisdel and Alex Boukis applaud after the drawing was completed for the lottery. Boukis, a teacher for the Ouray School District, was selected to purchase one of the homes.
Erin McIntyre – Ouray County Plaindealer

Croke said Rural Homes intends to complete construction on the homes on the south end of the development in October and finish the balance by the end of the year.

Rural Homes plans a second phase of the Waterview project consisting of 44 homes, but what that will look like and when it will be built depends on how the first phase goes, Croke said.