Although the increase has been modest compared with cities and towns on the eastern side of the state, a town in western Colorado is experiencing its own population boom, leading to a new project to build some 90 tiny homes.
Located just 17 miles from the Utah border, the town of Fruita has seen its population more than double in the last two decades from just under 6,500 people to around 13,800 today and counting.
That increase has prompted builders and developers to think about different approaches to building new housing, with the company Highline now proposing a project that will see the construction of just under one hundred tiny homes.
Currently being reviewed by the City of Fruita, the project calls for two-bedroom homes measuring roughly 650 square feet. The developer James Deighan has been quoted as saying that the structures, once completed, will list for $300,000 or less.
The chief executive officer of the Vail-based company Highline, Deighan has said that the homes will be geared for young professionals, a demographic increasingly at risk in the Centennial State as the average rent is now at the $1,800 mark and the average price of a home is well above the national average at $552,000.
Matters have been similarly challenging in Fruita, where, according to the site realtor.com, the median home listing price this spring is $507,000.
With projections that Fruita’s population will exceed 17,000 in the next five years, city officials have been challenged with trying to come up with housing solutions. Last November, the Fruita Housing Authority, working with the affordable housing development company Indibuild, unveiled a 50-unit affordable housing development on the northeast side of town.
Explanations for Fruita’s population growth are many but usually center on the town’s proximity to a variety of nature trails and the Colorado National Monument park, some 16 miles to the south.
The 90-tiny home proposal is now being reviewed by Fruita’s Community Development Department.
June 3, 2025
By Garry Boulard
