Cheyenne Mayor Says He’s Working To Address Housing Shortage

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins says he's been working to address a long-standing shortage of affordable housing in Wyoming's Capitol City.

In his ''Mayor's Minute" column on Friday, December 12, Collins wrote the following:

"I have talked about an upcoming affordable housing project for a while now. Using Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to build affordable housing comes with restrictions from the federal government. We learned that the required cash deposits for utilities negatively affect how much housing can be built. The developer and Black Hills Energy (BHE) met this week to find a way to protect ratepayers from the risk if the developer does not build the housing after the utility makes the necessary upgrades to their system to support the project. I really appreciate the partner we have in BHE and their willingness to work with us to find a creative solution. 184 affordable housing units will make a huge dent in our housing shortage, and it will take a real team effort to make it happen."

Collins Says The City Is Looking For State, Federal Money

The Mayor likewise said the city ahs applied for a Business Ready Grant from the Wyoming Business Council to buy land for an affordable housing project. The city will make a presentation to the Business Council Board of Directors In February and the State Land and Investment Board in April.

Collins also says he has asked Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis for help in getting more federal money to help address the problem.

A lack of housing, and especially affordable housing, has been a problem in Cheyenne for many years. The housing issue has implications for economic growth, as new businesses considering re-locating to Cheyenne often have concerns about the availability of housing for their workforce. Likewise, the lack of housing limits the available pool of employees already living in the city.

It's not unusual for people working in the city or at F.E. Warren Air Force Base to rent apartments in Laramie or Fort Collins. Doing so can pose transportation problems during the severe winter storms which commonly rock the area.