State officials announced nearly $40 million in preliminary awards to build more than 600 subsidized housing units for lower- and middle-income Coloradans on Wednesday, using some of the first full year of funding from a new statewide affordable housing program.
The money is set to help finance developments in Denver, Lone Tree, Fort Collins, Montrose and Craig. The apartment and housing projects will include rent protections to ensure they remain affordable to tenants who meet income thresholds.
The developments would be first recipients of a specific equity funding program through Proposition 123, the voter-approved affordable housing fund that launched last year and is expected to dole out nearly $300 million annually.
“We need more housing now, and the recipients announced today will help create 628 affordable housing units so more Coloradans can live where they want to live — close to their jobs, schools and the places they love,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.
Two Denver projects received preliminary awards, including the largest single recipient in this round of the program. That’s the Ballfield at Auraria development near the Metropolitan State University of Denver, which received $15 million. That money will help pay for 340 units reserved for tenants making between 60% and 120% of the area median income.
For a single-person household in Denver, that translates to an annual income range of between $54,780 and $109,560, according to current city guidelines.
The other Denver development, near Empower Field, is tabbed to receive just under $3.7 million to help fund 28 units for tenants who earn 80% to 90% of the area median income, or roughly $73,000 to $82,000 for a single-person household under this year’s income limits. The limits increase at each level for households with more people.
In Lone Tree in Douglas County, a project called Tall Tales Ranch is set to receive $4.1 million to help finance construction of 28 units reserved for people making between 30% and 100% of the area median income. That ranges from about $27,000 to $91,000 for a single-person household this year in Douglas County, with higher limits for larger households.
The new housing units will also include what state officials have called a “tenant equity vehicle.” That refers to a novel policy created by Prop 123, and it generally means that residents will share in the profits of the property, as if they were outside investors.
In a news release Wednesday, the governor’s office said the details of that part of the program will be established by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and a third-party administrator “to benefit the residents of developments” that received the state investment.
“Funding provided through the Equity program supports quality affordable housing and additional opportunities for housing stability,” said Cris White, the executive director and CEO of the finance authority, in the release. “These investments will strengthen communities while providing residents the opportunity to benefit directly from the success of these developments through the Tenant Equity Vehicle.”
The housing funded by the money announced Wednesday prioritized “high-density, mixed-income properties and environmental sustainability, including walkability to public transportation or community centers, electrification and water-wise landscaping,” the governor’s office said in the announcement.
Those approaches dovetail with the policy approach that Polis and legislative allies have taken to address the housing crisis, including a focus on building more density in urban areas, with a particular emphasis on access to transit.
Though advocates were initially concerned about local governments’ level of interest in Proposition 123 money, demand for the program’s funds has already outstripped available dollars. The finance authority received 36 applications totaling more than $313 million for the $39.4 million in equity funding that was announced Wednesday.
In all, more than 200 local governments have signed up to vie for Prop 123’s various funding options.
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