The Summit County government has completed construction of a workforce housing project that will serve as housing for the county’s transportation department employees.

County officials expect that Summit Stage employees could start moving into the development at 780 Little Beaver Trail as soon as Oct. 1, Summit County communications director Adrienne Isaac said in an email.

When the Summit County government purchased the property in August 2021, it had only three livable units. Following the renovations that wrapped up this month, the property now has eight units, two of which are two-bedroom units and the rest of which are studio apartments or one-bedroom units, Isaac said.

The workforce housing project aims to support the Summit Stage, Summit County’s free public transportation service. In recent years, a shortage of qualified drivers has led county officials to make a concerted push to raise wages for bus drivers and to provide affordable housing for drivers locally.

Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue described the Little Beaver Trail project as an example of “strategic reuse,” or taking housing that already exists but upgrading it and adding more density.

“As I think everybody knows, recruiting drivers is really difficult these days, and this project has come together really quickly,” Pogue said in a statement. “… We are really proud of this project, really grateful for the partnerships we have, and also very happy that we are going to be able to support our bus drivers.”

The upgraded workforce housing building is all-electric with solar panels and electric vehicle charging, according to the county government.

With the recent efforts to recruit and retain bus drivers, the Summit Stage earlier this year restored 30-minute service across various routes for the first time since 2021. Summit Stage director Chris Lubbers said that the Little Beaver Trail project hopes to continue to build on these efforts.

“I could not be more pleased with this project,” Lubbers said in a statement. “The new housing will help us attract and retain the quality talent needed to grow mobility in the region.”