A Popular ’70s TV Star’s Surprising Link to Beautiful Affordable Housing In Colorado

One of the biggest TV shows from the late '70s and early '80s that many folks in Colorado remember is "CHiPs." One its stars, Erik Estrada, is noted in Colorado history as being a part of a "frustrating" real estate development.

Fame: it comes with money and popularity, it also comes with getting lots of offers to use their fame as part of making a lot of money, not just for them, but others as well.

How is Erik Estrada Involved in a 'Frustrating' Real Estate Deal in Colorado?

According to the Colorado Sun, in the early 2000s, a real estate development company, based in California, came in and bought some undeveloped lots in a subdivision of Pagosa Springs, to re-sell them.

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That's where "Ponch" came in. He had been working for this real estate development company for a few years as their "pitch man," doing informercials like this one for some land near Seattle:

So, with Erik's help, they (NRPI) sold a lot of lots, because it is beautiful in Pagosa Springs, but not all of them, because of the housing market collapse in 2008. Even the land around the development needed work: no roads in.

So, these lots just sat there, while there were people who wanted to work in Pagosa Springs but couldn't find a place they could afford.

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According to the Colorado Sun, after years and years of frustration regarding these "orphaned" NRPI lots, something good is happening. They're turning about 40 of those lots into affordable housing opportunities for those who work in/around Pagosa Springs.