Steamboat Springs Resident Thankful for Colorado Billionaire Who Snapped Up New Apartment Complex Then Cut Rents: ‘Too Good To Be True’

Steamboat Springs Resident Thankful for Colorado Billionaire Who Snapped Up New Apartment Complex Then Cut Rents: ‘Too Good To Be True’

Kiri Blakeley

Tue, December 16, 2025 at 2:36 AM UTC

5 min read

Anna Allsberry, a school counselor and volleyball coach at Steamboat Springs High School in Steamboat Springs, CO, is adamant she would not be able to continue to live in her hometown but for one thing: a billionaire named Mark Stevens.

"Definitely not, no," she tells Realtor.com®, when asked if her salary would have been able to cover rent in downtown Steamboat Springs, with its median rent of $3,500, according to Realtor.com data.

"The housing in Steamboat is for sure an issue. It's gotten out of hand just since I moved back after college. It's been a struggle to find anything appropriately priced."

Steamboat Springs may be known for quaint log cabins and pristine nature, but its home valuations reflect a much pricier reality with a median home price of $1.42 million, according to Realtor.com—not far below much more famous expensive small towns like Nantucket, MA, and Jackson, WY.

A median-earning household in Steamboat Springs would have a housing budget of roughly $30,000 per year, or about $2,500 per month, says Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

"At today’s mortgage rates, that budget would support the purchase of a home priced around $500,000, assuming a 20% down payment. However, the typical home for sale in Steamboat Springs is priced at more than twice that amount, placing homeownership well out of reach for many local households," says Jones.

"As a result, affordability remains a significant challenge for residents, a dynamic commonly seen in popular vacation destinations, where demand from higher-earning or high-net-worth buyers from outside the area drives prices far beyond what local incomes can support."

While the median household income in the town is $100,156, local workers such as teachers would likely make less than that.

"It's not just low-income folks that are struggling with housing," Allsberry says. "It's professionals like doctors and teachers, too."

Being able to live where you work ... and grew up

In September, Allsberry and her boyfriend, who works at a health care nonprofit, were paying $3,100 a month for a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with no closets—and that was with a discount.

But then they learned of a new rental building called Riverview Apartments that would be offering apartments to local workers at far below market value. They jumped at the chance to apply for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, one not only with closets, but a dishwasher, a garage, and sweeping views of the Yampa River.

The rent was a much more affordable $2,050 a month.

"The prices seemed too good to be true," she says. "A lot people even thought it was some kind of scam."

The wait for approval was stressful and competitive. The property's offices were so bombarded with interested parties that it had to shut off its phones, she says.

But soon, the couple got word they'd been awarded the apartment of their choice.

"We were just so excited, relieved, and grateful," she says. "It didn't feel real."

Riverview Apartments

"Offering affordable housing opportunities for local workers, our community combines comfort, convenience, and connection," says the complex's website.

"With thoughtfully planned floor plans, modern finishes, and riverfront views, Riverview provides a welcoming place to call home. Located steps from downtown, you’ll enjoy easy access to work, recreation, and all that Steamboat has to offer."

And unlike the long drawn-out process of snagging an affordable apartment through a housing authority, applicants at Riverview Apartments only need to prove that at least one person in the household works 30 hours a week or more in Yampa Valley, and makes at least double the monthly rent. (Realtor.com reached out to Riverview Apartments.)

Perhaps this "too good to be true" housing scenario could only be offered through someone very benevolent—and very rich.

The complex's owner, Stevens, is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist worth $10.6 billion, according to Forbes, thanks to early investments in tech behemoths such as Nvidia, Google, Intel, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Yahoo.

In 2019, he and his wife, Mary, announced they would devote much of their time and wealth to philanthropy.

"We are proud to join Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates and the others who have committed to the Giving Pledge. My wife, Mary, and I feel very fortunate and blessed that we find ourselves, at a relatively young age, to be able to give our time, treasure, and talent to a variety of philanthropic organizations in a substantial manner," Stevens wrote in a blog post.

This giving has expanded to offering workers in his adopted hometown a way to affordably live in the community where they work.

The Riverview Apartments building was purchased by 970 Steamboat LLC for $95.3 million, equating to more than $916,000 per unit, according to The Colorado Sun. The LLC is linked to the address of Stevens' VC firm, S-Cubed Capital, says the outlet.

Allsberry, whose parents are friends with the billionaire and his wife, says she knew early on that the Stevenses had bought the Riverview Apartments and planned to make units available at cut-rate prices to local workers. But she swears she didn't get to skip the line because of the family connection.

Realtor.com reached out to S-Cubed Capital for comment but it did not respond.

The billionaire in town

Stevens and his wife have lived in the small mountain town (population: 13,600) since 2020 and own Strawberry Park Ranch, a $18.5 million 562-acre ranch purchased for conservation and a future family home, according to Steamboat Pilot & Today.

"It was pretty amazing that a property of that size so close to downtown Steamboat was undeveloped and left pretty much untouched," Hall and Hall agent Brian Smith, who sold the property to the Stevens family, tells Realtor.com.

Smith describes the sellers as "a wealthy family that didn't do a whole lot with [the property]. They improved the road, a bridge, and a pond, but didn't build any structures except a yurt."

It was the unspoiled, spectacular beauty of the land, as well as its convenient location that appealed to the Stevens family, he says.

"They recognized the fact that it was pretty special," he says. "When a wealthy family buys a place like that, there's a pretty good chance it will never become available again."

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