Colorado housing staff recommend $5.4 million for four housing developments

Colorado housing staff recommend a combined $5.385 million in state funding for four affordable and supportive-housing developments in Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Ouray and Leadville. The staff recommendations and Oct. 6 agenda propose grants for three projects and a repayable loan for the fourth. The State Housing Board is scheduled to consider the proposals that day.

The largest proposed amount is $3.25 million for Ascent at Salt Flats, a planned 144-apartment development in Grand Junction. Staff proposes a cash-flow loan through the Housing Development Grant program for construction costs. The project is planned for families earning 30% to 70% of area median income and includes an early-childhood education center and playground. The loan would carry a 2% interest rate and be repaid from project cash flow. It depends on available funds, commitments for other financing and required pre-agreement documents. The proposal calls for an additional 30-year affordability period.

In Fort Collins, staff recommends up to $1.2 million in Proposition 123 funding for Redtail Ponds, a 60-unit permanent supportive-housing property for people who have experienced chronic homelessness and veterans. The money would help pay off the property’s remaining mortgage debt, rather than build new units. The application says paying the debt would ease pressure from operating costs and recurring deficits and help preserve the homes and resident services. The recommendation depends on available funds, other funding commitments and required documents, including an executed housing-assistance payment contract and limited partnership agreement.

The other two recommendations are construction funding through the Housing Development Grant program: up to $715,000 for River Walk Affordable Rentals, a planned 13-unit development in Ouray, and $220,000 for the four-unit Rabbit Ears Quadplex in Leadville. River Walk’s proposed mix serves households earning 70% to 90% of area median income; Rabbit Ears’ four apartments are listed at 100%. Both proposals call for an additional 30-year affordability period. They depend on available program funds, other funding commitments and required pre-agreement documents. River Walk also needs approval from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade for its revised unit mix.

The board is scheduled to consider the recommendations Oct. 6; the proposed amounts and terms are not final awards.