Mountain Village receives $2.225M State of Colorado grant for Village Court Apartments expansion
The Mountain Village Housing Authority has been awarded a $2,225,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) in the third round of the state’s Transformational Affordable Housing Grant program.
The grant was awarded to fund infrastructure and construction costs associated with the expansion of Village Court Apartments. The Town of Mountain Village is currently constructing 35 new rental units (88 bedrooms) between two new buildings. Village Court Apartments is currently comprised of 222 units of affordable rental housing for low, moderate and middle-income individuals and families.
This specific grant application was for the east building’s infrastructure and construction costs. The east building will be comprised of 21 one- and two-bedroom units and the project will incorporate all-electric construction with high-efficiency appliances and individual metering of the units. The west building will be comprised of 12 units consisting of 4-bedroom suits and one three-bedroom unit with a storage room on the lower level.
“We are so excited about this $2.225 million grant award which will help us get closer to our carbon neutral goals, supporting a fully electrified project and the construction of the much-needed deed-restricted community rental housing,” said Assistant Town Manager Michelle Haynes. “We are so grateful to DOLA and Governor Jared Polis for this opportunity and we look forward to continued partnership opportunities with DOLA as they arise.”
DOLA’s Transformational Affordable Housing Grant (TAHG) provides funds and resources to assist applicants throughout the State of Colorado in developing, creating or preserving affordable housing opportunities in their communities.
“This grant builds upon our ongoing work to build more housing now, and we are excited that this support will add and preserve 1,353 affordable housing units across the state. We know that there is more work to do to make sure that Coloradans have access to the housing they need to thrive, and I’m hopeful that we can further remove barriers to new housing and make Colorado a more affordable place to live,” said Governor Jared Polis in a press release.
The MVHA is currently exploring the option of licensing units in Building W to Mountain Village businesses to use for their employees so that when a business loses an employee, they do not lose housing for the next employee as well.
The Town is working with Triumph Development West as the developers of the project and Shaw Construction is the general contractor. Much of the work on the new buildings will be done through modular construction by Northstar Homes. Work to prepare the site for the delivery of the modular buildings will take place through this summer and delivery of the buildings is anticipated for August or September 2023 with move-in targeted for the beginning of 2024. The Town has not yet finalized rental fees or the lottery/rental process for future tenants but will share those details with the community once they’re available.
The estimated total cost for the construction of Village Court Apartments Phase IV is roughly $20.29 million. The Town will continue to seek grants and funding opportunities to finance the project as it does not collect real estate transfer tax like some other peer municipalities.
