By David Heitz / NewsBreak Denver
(Denver, Colo.) A Denver City Council committee agreed Wednesday to lend $5.5 million to a development company to create affordable housing in the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The loan is for 20 years and uses American Rescue Plan Act funds. The building site at 1530 W. 13th Ave. is located within a half-mile of multiple light rail stations and is just south of the River Mile development.
The building will have six floors and contain 190 units, including 25 percent of them as three- and four-bedroom apartments. Shanahan Development LLC is the developer.
The Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee approved the loan Wednesday. The full City Council still must approve the loan.
The developer plans to apply for low-income tax credits for the project later this year or early next year. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026.
The building will serve people making between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income. That amounts to between $22,000 and $62,000 annually. Residents will pay 30 percent of their incomes for rent. A covenant on the property will guarantee it will remain affordable housing for at least 60 years.
City plans to add 7,000 affordable units
The project is part of the Department of Housing Stability’s plan to increase affordable housing stock by 7,000 units during the next five years.
“City, state, and federal agencies are helping fund housing development, but it’s not enough to meet our population’s growing housing needs,” according to the city’s website. ”As housing costs go up, Denver households are increasingly ‘housing cost burdened,’ meaning more than a third of their income is going just to housing alone.
“Today, more than 115,000 Denver households – or 35 percent – are housing cost burdened. Through the Department of Housing Stability, the city funds the construction of thousands of deeply affordable, income-restricted homes. Additional affordable housing options are needed for people who make too much to qualify for traditionally subsidized housing but not enough to afford the high costs of housing in Denver today.”
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