'Too Good To Be True': Billionaire Buys Apartment Complex To Offer Affordable Living For Locals

January 8, 2026

Finding an affordable place to live has become nearly impossible in many resort towns—but one Colorado community just got an unexpected dose of good news.

In Steamboat Springs, billionaire investor Mark Stevens purchased a luxury apartment complex and flipped the script by offering the homes to local workers at well below market rates.

Riverview / Mark Stevens

The Riverview Apartments, located along the Yampa River in downtown Steamboat Springs, were originally designed as high-end rentals. But after being acquired in September for $95.3 million, the complex took a very different direction—one that’s already changing lives.

Construction worker Landin Hutchison was among the first to line up when applications opened. Within weeks, he, his partner Piper Rillos, and their two-year-old son had moved into a two-bedroom apartment for just over $2,100 a month.

That move has been a game-changer.

“We are pretty much saving a grand a month and living in town now,” Hutchison said. “We feel very, very fortunate.”

More than 100 local workers now live in the two Riverview buildings, which together include 104 apartments. Rents were set far below typical Steamboat Springs prices, with studios listed around $925 a month, two-bedrooms around $1,600, and three-bedrooms about $2,125.

What makes the program especially unique is its simplicity: renters must work at least 30 hours a week in the community, but there are no income limits and no public housing subsidies involved.

School counselor and volleyball coach Anna Allsberry says staying in her hometown wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Before moving into Riverview, she and her partner were paying more than $3,100 a month for a smaller apartment.

“The prices seemed too good to be true,” Allsberry said. “We were just so excited, relieved, and grateful. It didn’t feel real.”

For many residents, Riverview represents more than just affordable housing—it’s a chance to stay rooted in the community they serve. At a time when rising costs are pushing workers out of the towns they love, this unexpected move is giving Steamboat Springs locals something increasingly rare: the ability to live where they work.