Affordable housing planned to expand in southeast of downtown
The Lowell neighborhood just southeast of downtown Colorado Springs is slated for hundreds of new affordable apartments.
Developer Toby Gannett said the Draper Commons project offers a unique blend of housing to various income levels and was adjusted based on the recommendations from the Quad Innovation Partnership, a group that included college students at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado College, Pikes Peak State College and the Air Force Academy to meet the needs of the area.
The group studied global best practices in affordable housing and helped guide the site selection, green construction and universal design standards to ensure it can serve seniors and those with disabilities, he explained.
"They challenged me, and I challenged them," he said.
Initially, Gannett envisioned an senior housing project, but opened it up to all who can qualify with low-income at the group's recommendation to to help reduce senior isolation, he explained. He expects it will also serve teachers, military personnel and Amazon workers, among others. The site close to downtown is hoped to provide shorter commute times.
The first building, Sumner House, was completed this year and serves lower-income residents making 30% to 60% area median income. For a family of four, 30% of area median income is $31,200 and 60% is $62,400. The 95-unit building offers rents as low as about $550 per month for a studio, up to $1,404 for a two-bedroom.
The building opened in July, and Gannett expects it will have a mile-long waiting list.
Gannett pitched the second two phases to the Colorado Springs City Council recently because they will require an urban renewal designation based on blight conditions. Such a designation allows the project to use new tax revenue generated by the project to pay back bonds used to finance construction. The project is expected to generate $5.3 million in tax-increment revenue that could be used to pay down debt.
The next two phases are expected to have 390 units that will cater to a higher income bracket, with rents starting at $1,274 per month for a studio for those earning 70% of the area median income, a City Council presentation showed. Most of units, 299, are expected to serve those earning 100% of area median income. For a family of four, that's $104,000, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
One of the phases, Lowell Commons, is planned as two buildings east of the intersection of Las Animas Street and Nevada Avenue. The other, Bristow House, is planned for a triangular piece of property south of Nevada. Sumner House is directly west of the site, separated by train tracks.
When the buildings are complete, it will be one of the largest affordable housing projects in the region, but it will only address a small portion of the overall need, Gannett said.
City Councilman Dave Donelson questioned the need for additional units close to downtown with so many new large complexes opening.
The Downtown Partnership found in its review of 2023 data, 20% of the downtown units were vacant on a 12-month rolling average.
Gannett said the city could have an emerging oversupply of apartments downtown. The supply could drive competition in the market and companies may offer incentives to prospective renters, such as three months free, but that won't bring rents down to the federally affordable rates the proposed buildings offer.
The City Council must still vote to approve the urban renewal designation for the property.
