Tracy Ross
Reporter
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They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but can good intentions pave the road to more rural Colorado housing?
For Lyndon Hansen and his business partner Andrew McFarland, that’s a big question, at least when it comes to paying for infrastructure and roads for a development project in Pagosa Springs.
The two own an 80-acre parcel of land that sits between U.S. Highway 160 and Durango Road on the west side of Pagosa Springs Elementary School. It’s approved for nearly 800 units of various types of lodging “including single-family, apartments, condos, etc.” with 10% of residential units allocated for workforce housing for locals with income levels between 40% to 120% of the area median income, Hansen said.
Pagosa Springs is like other rural Colorado communities in its need for workforce housing. James Dickoff, development director for the town, says second homeowners own 60% of all properties. A new Archuleta County housing needs assessment shows the town needs 350 workforce housing units immediately and that they’ll need 1,300 new units over the next decade.
But although the town has three workforce housing projects that it is currently trying to “get off the ground,” Dickoff says even with incentives like those offered through voter-approved Proposition 123, Colorado’s affordable housing fund, they’re still “struggling to find enough incentive funding to make those projects pencil out.”
Hansen and McFarland live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. McFarland is a dentist-owner at Comfort Dental and Hansen is a real estate agent who “helps investors grow and protect their wealth through strategic real estate acquisitions.”
Yet Hansen says they’re “just two guys trying to help provide affordable housing to the community,” and after years of trying to get their Pagosa Views project approved, they, too, are struggling to find the capital and a lending partner to keep going.
Dickoff said it’s not unusual for investors from outside of Colorado to want to build in-state, “and a lot of the construction design criteria are different here than they are in (say) Arizona and Texas.”
“So there’s a little bit of a learning curve when you’re building in a winter climate versus a nonwinter climate,” he added, “and there’s more costs associated with building that infrastructure. It’s got to be deeper. It’s got to be frost protected. There are different design standards that developers aren’t used to in the warmer states.”
The plat for Pagosa Views subdivision in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The land sits adjacent to the Pagosa Springs Elementary School and needs infrastructure investment before developers Lyndon Hansen and Andrew McFarland can start building. Hansen says the two and a third partner have $1.5 tied to the project and that they’ve sold their houses, moved and “put all we could” into making the development happen. (Plat map created by Hansen’s engineering team)Looking for an ending
Pagosa is one of the closest Colorado towns to New Mexico, and Dickoff says he sees a lot of developer interest from there as well. But Hansen said their plat approval was denied not due to issues related to weather, winter-season length or other Colorado high-country constraints, but because of access issues not unlike those The Colorado Sun wrote about in April 2024, and a few others.
The 2024 story highlighted a development that floundered for decades because there was no “capacity for development of infrastructure,” according to Emily Lashbrooke, executive director of the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation, the economic development agency for Archuleta County. The result was dozens of lots going dormant for a decade and a half “while fees, unpaid taxes and penalties amounted to $100,000-plus per lot,” she said.
But a happy ending followed. In 2024, Archuleta County applied for a Proposition 123 More Housing Now grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to build roads and infrastructure that would make the development a reality. Today, Lashbrooke said, the Chris Mountain Village 2 development has around 30 homes occupied and five under construction.Hansen said in an email he and his partners submitted a plat approval to the town planning commission that was denied because they have similar access issues as the one Lashbrooke helped fix.
One involved “a few 4-plex style townhomes off 10th Street” included in the master plan that city planners wanted access off U.S. 160 to “which requires state and CDOT involvement and a lot of time,” he said.
Another was bringing in utilities “and the huge, insane amount of impact fees the utilities charge. Once a plat is recorded, the utility wants their money, which creates huge cost burdens that have to be passed onto any future buyer,” he added. “It’s almost $30,000 per unit, which isn’t small and required to build.”
Lashbrooke said community opposition — or “NIMBYism,” as she called it — led to Hansen and crew almost giving up on the project. And the whole process has left Hansen, McFarland and a third partner — Jake Kocherhans— in essence, with empty pockets.
“We have between $1.8 and $1.9 million tied to the project,” Hansen reported. “We’ve sold our houses, moved, put all we could into it.”
Lashbrooke has been helping them try to bring their project along, like she did the one in 2024. And Hansen and McFarland are looking for a new potential partner who could step in and help drive the project forward. “We have many of the pieces in place, but the costs have risen to a level where it’s challenging for a smaller group to carry it through.”
Section by Tracy Ross | Reporter
November unemployment rate drops; U.S. does the opposite
Colorado’s unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.9% in November, from September (October was skipped due to the federal government shutdown), according to state labor data released Wednesday. That was the opposite of the U.S., which changed two-tenths, too, but upward to 4.6%.
That means Colorado has been lower than the U.S. since August, returning to its historical trend of being lower nearly 80% of the time since 1980, said Tim Wonhof, director of Labor Market Information at the state Department of Labor and Employment.
But this doesn’t necessarily translate into being in better shape than the rest of the nation.
Colorado’s lower unemployment rate is partly due to fewer unemployed Coloradans, which dropped 8,400 in the month. They didn’t necessarily get a new job though. The number of employed Coloradans fell by 900 in the same month.
What really changed was how many people stopped looking for a job and exited the state’s labor force. That dropped by 9,400 in November. There are still an estimated 3,262,904 people in the state’s labor force.
“And a declining labor force puts downward pressure on the unemployment rate,” Wonhof said in an email. “In short, the rapid decline in Colorado’s unemployment rate may not, in fact, be a signal of economic strength so much as a reflection of a changing economic landscape with fewer participants.”
The State Demographer Office revised population growth last quarter to adjust for fewer people migrating to Colorado, so the latest data “isn’t a big surprise,” said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the Business Research Division at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.
“Changing demographics, slow net migration to the state and changing immigration policies, all of those will suppress growth in the labor force,” Lewandowski said. “But I think what we’ve seen over the last several months, the number of people unemployed coming down is encouraging.”
➔ U.S. unemployment falls in December. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said the nation’s unemployment rate fell back down to 4.4% in December. State numbers for the same month will be released on Jan. 27.
Colorado sees job growth in some areas
Employers reported a preliminary net gain of 2,700 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month. The BLS also revised September to a gain of 2,400 jobs instead of just 500. That puts the state’s over-the-year job growth at 0.8% for November, which was slower than the 0.9% a year earlier but higher than the U.S. rate of 0.6%, according to state labor data.
In the 12 months ending Nov. 2025, Colorado added 24,600 nonfarm payroll jobs. Here’s how different industry sectors fared in 2025.Other notable notes:
Colorado’s federal workforce shrank. The state lost 2,800 federal government workers in October and November. The 43-day federal government shutdown ended Nov. 12 so some of those furloughed workers may return in upcoming months. As of November, the state’s federal worker numbered 51,500, down 5.8% in the year. According to state labor department calculations, 2,214 federal workers had filed for unemployment during the shutdown. Certain service jobs grew the most. Over the month, the industry sector with the biggest job gains? “Other services,” up 1,500 jobs and includes occupations like maids and butlers, auto mechanics and hairstylists. Boom in health care workers. Over the year, private health care and social assistance added the most jobs, increasing by 12,900. “Health care is still the number one place where workers are needed,” Broomfield economist Gary Horvath said in an email. “The shutdown didn’t cause anyone to get younger. I think it is amazing that the sector is able to find so many health care workers. Where are they finding them?” Good question. Do you have insight? Let us know. Average hourly wage up to $40.47. The average worker now makes $40.47 an hour, up $1.31 from a year ago and $3.61 more than the U.S. average. While the annualized increase is 3.7%, it’s just 1.4% hike when adjusted for inflation, according to the state labor department. Boulder and Fort Collins have lowest unemployment rates. The two metro areas had a 3.4% jobless rate in November, which compared with the state’s non-seasonally adjusted 3.6%. Pueblo had the highest, at 5.2%. ICYMI: Colorado professional jobs had the biggest November decline. The professional and business services sector lost 1,200 jobs in November. But inside that sector, tech jobs see improvement. >> Read story> View Colorado’s November employment report
Section by Tamara Chuang | Business/Technology Reporter
Sun economy stories you may have missed
A Sinclair gas station on May 20, 2024, near Johnstown. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)> Read story
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More than 100 merchants and local workers marched down main street in Telluride on Wednesday urging patrollers and the Telluride Ski and Golf resort company to end a labor dispute that has hurt the local economy. (Ben Eng, Special to The Colorado Sun)> Read story
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> 14 things that will make headlines in Colorado in 2026. From wolves and water to Medicaid and midterms, The Colorado Sun’s newsroom looks ahead to what we’ll be watching this year. >> Read story
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New law: Junk fees allowed, just disclose them
Colorado’s Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices law went into effect Jan. 1 requiring restaurants, apartment complexes, ticket sellers and others to disclose added fees that can shock customers when paying their bills.
Chopstickers in Denver added an 8% service fee to orders in December 2025. (Tamara Chuang, The Colorado Sun)It doesn’t ban the fees and just requires disclosure. Sometimes called junk fees or drip pricing, these have become common on restaurant checks, showing up as service charges, BoH fee (to benefit “back of house” or kitchen staff) and even “Creating Happy People” fee. It’s been one way restaurant owners have dealt with rising costs of food, labor and other expenses.
But it’s also to address surprise fees when renting an apartment. Without knowing the total price, renters searching for a new place get misled by advertised online prices. House Bill 1090 tries to address that.
Notably, some apartments have put notices front and center, like The Alder in Parker. A popup greets visitors with “Introducing Total Monthly Leasing Price,” and shares the base rent versus the total cost, though you’ve got to call to find out what those are. Advertising on Apartments.com, though, fees for same complex mentions include internet, trash, water, renters insurance and “Smart Home Services.”
One week in and there have been complaints filed with the Colorado Attorney General’s office, according to a spokesperson who declined to elaborate. For consumers noticing undisclosed fees still popping up, you can file a complaint at coag.gov/file-complaint.
Take the poll
➔ Do you have a junk fee story to share? Email Tamara at tamara@coloradosun.com
Other working bits
Natural Grocers challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture labels designed to help consumers recognize food products that have been genetically modified. But some food products were exempt while more common labels like GMO weren’t included.➔ Natural Grocers fights loopholes in bioengineered food disclosure. And wins. The Lakewood grocery chain known for selling organic food, said a federal appeals court ruled in its favor in a challenge to USDA rules under the Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard Act.
Not that the grocer was against disclosure. It wanted full disclosure. As part of the USDA rules, some highly processed foods were exempt. They also focused on the label “bioengineered” but not GMO, which could be confusing to consumers. The court also rejected rules that let brands use just a QR code for customers to learn more about what’s in the food, which is hard if customers don’t have a smartphone.
> Ruling
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Colorado’s retirement program sees 38% growth in savers Colorado’s talent pipeline report identifies 163 “top jobs” Office-bound jobs grew in Colorado in latest employment report How a $1.2 million donation is saving a 4-H club in Colorado’s San Luis Valley Thanksgiving dinner in Colorado will cost less than last year, as grocers eat the loss Why Finland’s ambassador was checking out Colorado’s quantum industry Even in this economy, the show must go on in ColoradoWhat’s Working is a Colorado Sun column about surviving in today’s economy. Email tamara@coloradosun.com with stories, tips or questions. Read the archive, ask a question at cosun.co/heyww and don’t miss the next one by signing up at coloradosun.com/getww.
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