Ground broken for affordable apartments in northwest Longmont

LONGMONT — Officials of the City of Longmont, its housing authority and the developer held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for Ascent at Hover Crossing, a $23 million, 75-unit apartment complex on 2.41 acres in northwest Longmont that will be restricted to households earning at or below 30% to 80% of area median income.

The project, northeast of the intersection of 17th Avenue and Hover Street, will include one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments in two three-story buildings. Completion is projected for January 2026.

“Access to stable, affordable housing and quality, affordable child care are essential to a family’s economic stability, parents’ ability to work, and children’s healthy development. This reality is amplified for disadvantaged households,” Harold Domiguez, Longmont city manager and interim executive director of the Longmont Housing Authority, said in a prepared statement. “The Ascent at Hover Crossing combines two important community assets, affordable housing and child care, into one impactful project.”

One of the buildings will include a 5,000-square-foot early-childhood education center that will be built in part with a $2 million grant from the Colorado Health Foundation that was officially approved in July by the Longmont City Council, acting as the Longmont Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. 

The two-story, three-classroom education center on the north side of the property will have its own secure indoor and outdoor play areas, reception area, office space, conference rooms and kitchen area. The Wild Plum Center for Young Children and Families, a Longmont-based nonprofit provider of early childhood programs that specializes in working with low-income families, provided design consultation for the space. The center is to be available to any qualified interested families living at The Ascent, but would not be exclusive to residents and will also serve the surrounding community.

Developed by the Denver office of Pennrose LLC and designed by Denver-based architect Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, the complex also will include a standalone building holding a community room, fitness space, mail room, leasing office, maintenance and storage area. An adjacent outdoor area will have a playground and gathering space with barbecue equipment.

Speakers at the ceremony included: Shannon Cox Baker, regional vice president for Pennrose; Susie Hidalgo-Fahring, Ward 3 City Council member; Denise DeBroy, a tax-credit officer at the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority; Nicole Mansour, executive vice president of FirstBank; Elliot Frolichstein-Appel, director and investment manager at RBC Community Investments; and Tom Anderson, Pennrose vice president. Longmont mayor Joan Peck also took part in the groundbreaking.

“The city of Longmont is booming,” Baker said, “and we are confident Ascent at Hover Crossing will be a valuable addition, benefiting local residents and families for years to come.”

The project comes at a crucial time for Longmont, which has seen a 15% increase in population since the 2010 census, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The Longmont Housing Authority’s only family housing property has consistently maxed out its waiting list.

A project-specific market study and a communitywide housing needs assessment that was completed in 2023 showed the greatest need for units in Longmont is for families at 50% AMI and below. Ascent at Hover Crossing will provide 31 such units, with 18 of them further subsidized with project-based vouchers.

The housing authority owns the property at 1764-1780 Hover St. and selected Pennrose as its developer partner using a competitive Request for Proposals process. The housing authority and the city committed $2.4 million in addition to 18 project-based vouchers from the authority to ensure that its most vulnerable residents have an opportunity to live in the community.

The housing authority also will serve as property manager at the complex, which will have 21 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom, 21 three-bedroom and six four-bedroom apartments. The buildings will be completely electricity powered to further the city’s and state’s sustainability goals. In collaboration with Longmont Power & Communications, the developers anticipate incorporating rooftop solar into all buildings on the site, and the community will be built to Bronze National Green Building Standards.

According to the developer, the units will include full kitchens, in-unit washers/dryers and additional closet/storage space, and the buildings will have R-60 blown insulation.

Equity investment in the development was provided by RBC Community Investments and JP Morgan Chase, and FirstBank provided both construction and permanent loan financing.

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