28 OCT 14 | lines, and tax credits, and bears! oh my!

I know, tax credit financing isn’t exactly what comes to mind for most people when they think “Ohhhhhhh, that’s exciting!” But when it helps convert good design into efficient and comfortable housing that is accessible to people from all walks of life, it’s pretty durn exciting. This summer, WORKSHOP8 was lucky to assist two mission-driven developers win 9% tax credits through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA). That makes us 2-for-2 for this year so far! 

The tax-citement started in April when the Longmont Housing Development Corporation (LHDC) commissioned WORKSHOP8 to design a 60-unit, 100% affordable housing facility for active residents 55 and older. The new complex, Spring Creek at Prairie Village, will help provide housing for people displaced by the September 2013 floods. 

Spring Creek NE_600

Spring Creek SW_600

CHFA awarded this project $888,948 in federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). We are completing the construction drawings for this project now and LHDC hopes to break ground April 2015 and have the units available in 2016. You may have seen this project highlighted in the Daily Camera: http://www.dailycamera.com/News/ci_26720396/Longmonts-new-affordable-senior-complex-reaches-Boulder-County-residents-displaced-by-flood

In June, Gorman & Co. asked WORKSHOP8 create conceptual plans for 3116 Alameda, part of a revitalization effort steered by the City of Denver and the Westwood community. We prepared a simple preliminary concept, then we, along with the Westwood neighborhood, and the developer, Gorman & Co., crossed our fingers and waited until we heard that CHFA had awarded the affordable housing project $915,504 in tax credits!

Grove Street-_600

Grove Street2_600

The project was also given an award from Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) to assist in reviving the area. The project (and the WORKSHOP8 design) was featured in Confluence Denver.

So I’ve covered the lines (drawings, right?) and the tax credits, so what about the bear?  Spotted just four miles from the future site of Spring Creek

BEAR
(photo by Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

Oh my!