Given our proximity to public lands and the thriving outdoor-minded business community in the valley, Gunnison Crested Butte is the perfect spot for an outdoor industry hub. Existing outdoor industry businesses will find many resources for growth and startups will have the help they need to get up and running. The ICELab at Western is a business resource center and coworking space that provides business consulting and office space for local businesses and their employees. ICELab also hosts an incubator and accelerator every year. The incubator is designed to help businesses get off the ground. The accelerator is for businesses looking to grow and expand and is specifically geared to outdoor industry companies. Pact Outdoors, SheFly Apparel and Hustle Bike Labs are a few companies that went through an ICELab accelerator. They then decided to move their companies here because of the community and support they found—not to mention the beautiful location in the Colorado Rockies.

Gunnison Rising is Gunnison’s newest community. It was born out of seeing a need for better and different housing and work options. It will be a place to live, work and recreate in. The project will add 1700 housing units to Gunnison and grow the town by 40%. There will also be space for dining, shopping, community gathering, a maker’s district, trails, a concert venue, a campground and spaces for local entrepreneurs. The goal of this live and work community is to provide a safe community and give people the chance to live the Gunnison Valley lifestyle in an affordable setting.