CREJ

May 2021 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — Page 41 www.crej.com Affordable Housing T he housing authority of the city and county of Denver is the largest housing authority in Colorado and one of the top large public housing authori- ties in the nation. DHA administers over 7,000 Housing Choice vouchers and more than 5,700 public hous- ing and affordable housing units, of which approximately one-third are dispersed throughout the city. In furthering its mission to create and promote thriving communities, DHA has diversified its funding sources through an entrepreneurial and busi- ness development approach to meet the housing needs of its clients and the greater Denver community. Congress passed the National Housing Act (the federal law enabling creation of public housing authorities) in 1937 and DHA was established by the Denver City Council in 1938. In 1965, DHA began a 15-year develop- ment period using federal funds that saw the construc- tion of 10 high- rise buildings for low-income seniors, acquisition of single-family homes, duplexes, quad-plexes and small cluster units, aka dispersed housing. The Section 8 program, created under the 1974 Fair Housing Act, provided DHA clients with greater free- dom by instituting a voucher system for rental of homes from private own- ers. After multiple transformative proj- ects in the Curtis Park, Benedict Park Place and Mariposa neighborhoods, DHA currently is managing a large- scale project in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood with the support from the U.S. Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Develop- ment’s Choice Neighborhood Imple- mentation Grant. Sun Valley Homes, in a compact census tract of 0.64 square miles, will contain approxi- mately 1,200 units housing 3,000 residents at build-out. A variety of construction types will include senior housing, townhomes, multifam- ily apartments, community service facilities and commercial spaces. The project also includes significant infra- structure improvements, bringing back the neighborhood street grid, improved connections to transit and an 11-acre regional park on the South Platte riverfront. In demonstration of DHA’s structuring innovative and cre- ative funding mechanisms to develop thriving and healthy communities, the multiphase development has attracted over $100 million in federal, state, local and private funds. Working in collaboration with the city and county of Denver and residents of the Sun Valley neighbor- hood, six focus areas emerged from the extensive community-driven master planning process: • Prioritize youth, family and edu- cation; • Placemaking through food; • Create opportunity; • Develop intentional housing; • Create connections and open space; and • Build sustainable infrastructure. These overarching impact areas highlight Sun Valley’s unique chal- lenges and create opportunities for celebrating the diversity of the neigh- borhood. In addition to the planned housing, infrastructure and open space improvements, DHA’s HUD Critical Community Investments plan looks to implement multiple economic development strategies to better connect residents to local employers and improve food access. Three initiatives address food access, including an urban farm located in the riverfront park called the Grow Garden, an international and afford- able marketplace called Decatur Fresh, and a planned restaurant and business incubator space. Decatur Fresh, along with the food and business incubator, will play a prominent role in the Sun Val- ley transformation project. These initiatives are a direct result of the community identified priorities of education, placemaking through food and creating opportunities. Operating as a social enterprise within DHA’s Your Employment Academy, Decatur Fresh will be an 1,800-square-foot space including a grocery market, workforce training program and com- munity space that will offer afford- able, nutritious options in what is now a food desert. The grocery mar- Sun Valley project uses community-driven wish list Ryan Tobin Chief real estate investment officer, Denver Housing Authority Slavica Park Director community connections/ executive director, Youth Academy, Denver Housing Authority A s most people know (or should know), developing affordable rental housing is not a quick process, nor is it for the faint of heart. The Aurora Housing Authority has been developing affordable rental housing in the city since 1975 and, for us, affordable rental housing is the only thing we do. Colorado is fortunate to have public housing authorities that aggressively utilize the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. I’m not sure that many people know that not all states’ PHAs are as active in developing new affordable units as in Colorado. I have been fortunate to lead the Aurora Housing Authority for over 13 years. Going through a major recession and now a pandemic has given me a vastly different perspec- tive than when I first started work- ing in this position. Two things I have learned are to be flexible and, above all, patient. A deal might (and often does) morph into something totally different from your initial plan. The other thing I was aware of and knew instinctively, but did not fully appreciate, was the value of partnerships. n Flexible patience. One of the big- gest challenges we have as a PHA that operates only in one jurisdic- tion is finding new parcels to devel- op. Many nonprofits and for-profit developers can seek out opportuni- ties in various locations around the metro Denver area. Because of our statutory limitations, we need to acquire land when we can find it and put the deal together when the timing is right. The result is that we often have to incur additional land holding costs that other developers won’t or can’t tol- erate. Conversely, we might have a parcel available when a funding opportunity falls in our laps, as it did recently with a 3.5-acre parcel in Gateway Park near East 40th and Tower Road. AHA purchased this land from the Pauls Corp. in 2019, and we intended to hold it for a few years. However, changes made in the federal 2021 Omnibus Bill to the 4% LIHTC program allowed us to fast-track development on the Gateway par- cel. We will begin construction of 100 affordable rental units later this year. n Partnerships. The ever-increasing costs of developing rental hous- ing in Colorado demand innovative partnerships to make deals happen. In 2019, AHA completed an 82-unit project called Peoria Crossing, which provides affordable rental housing for families and home- less veterans with an innovative land loan financed by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. The acquisition of this transit-oriented development got off the ground because of the city of Aurora’s part- nership with AHA on loan grantees to CHFA. AHA will apply to CHFA LIHTC later this year for the 74-unit phase two of this development. Without the cooperation and sup- port of CHFA and the city of Aurora, the deal would not be possible. An example of patience and part- nerships is AHA’s Liberty View proj- ect on the Fitzsimons Innovation Community near East Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street. This land is on what was once the Fitzsi- mons Army base. AHA was awarded a competitive allocation of state and federal LIHTC late last year to construct 59 units of housing for senior veterans. The project came together after a multiyear push by AHA and the city of Aurora to encourage Colorado to release land it held on the former Army base to affordable housing development. The late Mayor Steve Hogan was a great friend to AHA, and his politi- cal expertise went a long way to making this project a reality. Con- struction on the project will begin in October. The days of waiting for fed- eral funds to support and develop Affordability in Aurora: Patience and partnerships Craig Maraschky Executive director, Aurora Housing Authority Please see Tobin, Page 45 Denver Housing Authority Phase 1 Sun Valley Gateway in foreground and obsolete row-type housing in background. In 2019, Aurora Housing Authority completed an 82-unit project called Peoria Crossing, which provides affordable rental housing for families and homeless veterans with an innovative land loan financed by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. Please see Maraschky, Page 45