#Breckenridge Colorado.
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| Courtesy of the town of Breckenridge |
In the first step toward funding a planned affordable housing project, town council approved the transfer of land to the Breckenridge Housing Authority in a first reading on Tuesday. The proposed project, known as Denison Placer, would bring 66 income-restricted rental units across from Colorado Mountain College.
With the June 1 due date for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) approaching quickly, Breckenridge town planner Laurie Best said staff would request council make the ordinance effective immediately after the second reading.
“We want to leave it as a two-reading process,” she said. “We will transfer ownership of the LIHTC property from the town of Breckenridge to the housing authority.”
With LIHTC projects, if there is an ownership interest by a housing authority, then the project is a much more competitive candidate for the tax credit. The town is currently pursuing 9-percent tax credits to cover $12 to $13 million of project costs.
The Breckenridge Housing Authority was formed to satisfy tax credit financing requirements for the Pinewood II, another income-restricted apartment rental that received LIHTC funding.
“It (LIHTC funding) will come in very useful for this project. We will be more competitive if the parcel is owned by a nonprofit.”Peter GrosshueschCommunity Development director
“It will come in very useful for this project,” Community Development director Peter Grosshuesch said. “We will be more competitive if the parcel is owned by a nonprofit.”
The 5.5-acre segment is split into two phases, both of which will include income-restricted housing. The first parcel, of about one acre and 30 units, will break ground this summer. Groundwork will also start on the other parcel, though the larger site will begin after the town hears back in regards to LIHTC funding.
“One will be subject to tax credit rules for occupancy, and the other one we’ll set ourselves,” he said.
The Denison Placer subdivision will include two- and three-bedroom apartments, with Area Median Income (AMI) restrictions set at 40 to 60 percent. The project is a segment of Breckenridge’s Block 11 Master Plan, a 254-acre site north of Upper Blue Elementary that is meant to host a neighborhood of 180 to 350 units adjacent to the McCain Property. The plan, which was developed in 2007, will see a few tweaks, but Grosshuesch said the street plan and architecture would be consistent with the Block 11 Master Plan.
Grosshuesch said when work begins this summer, that parcel of land will be prepared with grading and utility work.
“It’s all worth it in the end,” he added.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
