Downtown Boulder affordable-housing project approved for tax credits

BOULDER — The developer of a proposed 40-unit affordable-housing unit in Boulder for homeless youth will be able to use low-income housing tax credits awarded by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

Ohio-based Gardner Capital Development has been approved for a 9 percent tax credit for the affordable housing community at 1440 Pine St. in downtown Boulder. The project is a collaboration between Gardner Capital Development, Boulder-based Attention Homes — which provides shelter to homeless youths — and the First United Methodist Church of Boulder, which is donating the land for the development.

The Attention Homes project was developed through the Pathways Home Colorado Supportive Housing Toolkit, a program created by the state of Colorado and CHFA in partnership with LeBeau Development in 2014 to increase development of high-quality supportive housing projects.

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Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a prepared statement, said, “By providing young adults experiencing homelessness with affordable housing and access to wrap-around services, Attention Homes is reducing the use of costly emergency interventions, meeting a critical need, and helping to make homelessness history. This project represents the best of what can be accomplished when a community comes together to implement a thoughtful, outcome-driven solution to one of our most arduous social issues.”

The project is aligned with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’ goal to end youth homelessness by 2020, and the Boulder County 10-Year Plan To End Homelessness.

Claire Clurman, Attention Homes’ executive director, said the organization has served more than 9,000 youths between ages of 12 and 24.

“We know that community-based interventions, stable housing and age appropriate supports help youth transition to self-sufficiency,” she said. “This project will provide residents with the time, flexibility and client-centered case management they need in order to heal, reach their full potential and move on toward independence.”

The groups expect construction to begin in the winter of 2017-18, with completion and occupancy set for 2019.

To qualify, residents must be at 60 percent or below the area median income for Boulder County, approximately $39,840 for a one-person household.