Commerce City Housing Authority reports Junction 72 fully leased; county bond role and community space use remain under discussion

Tracy Jones, executive director of the Commerce City Housing Authority, told the Adams County Board of Commissioners that Junction 72, a 92‑unit affordable housing project in Commerce City, is complete and fully leased.

The housing authority presented the project as a family‑oriented development: 53% of units are three‑ and four‑bedroom homes designed to house families near elementary and middle schools and adjacent to the 70th & Colorado RTD light‑rail station. Construction began in December 2022 and, Jones said, was completed in the first quarter of this year. Jones said the project leased rapidly and that “all 92 units [are] filled,” with strong demand from Adams County residents and roughly 30% of residents receiving some form of housing assistance.

Why it matters: the project is one of several in the county financed with an element of Adams County’s private activity bond capacity, which county staff and commissioners said required follow‑up to ensure the county’s expectations for community benefits are met.

Project facilities and planned uses

Junction 72 includes about 4,000 square feet of consolidated community space split roughly in half between a clubhouse/leasing/management area (including a fitness center) and about 2,000 square feet of office/conference space intended for community use. Jones said the office space was originally intended to host a small coffee tenant and community retail but was reconfigured for offices after the coffee tenant determined the location was not feasible for them.

The housing authority reported outreach and early arrangements with local nonprofit partners: KIND (a dental nonprofit with local clinical operations) intends to move administrative offices into the space and will continue school‑based outreach; talks were also underway with Commerce City police to use one of the offices as a rest facility for officers, though that usage had not been finalized. Jones said the leasing office will include a conference room open to residents for client meetings or small gatherings, and that the property employs on‑site managers five days a week.

County role and financing

Adams County staff explained the county contributed private activity bond capacity to the project; in the presentation staff described that support as an investment of county bond capacity (presentations and the discussion referenced figures in the range of several million dollars). County commissioners emphasized that, because the county’s private activity bond capacity was used to support the capital stack, the county has a continuing interest in follow‑through on the project’s community benefits — for example, making first‑floor space available for nonprofit services and ensuring the space’s intended community uses materialize.

Commissioners and staff discussed the limits of county authority: land‑use approvals and many conditions are Commerce City decisions, and bond authority operates differently than a direct cash grant. County staff said follow‑up and coordination are appropriate and that county economic development and Spark teams can help connect nonprofit partners to first‑floor space across affordable housing projects going forward.

Questions and outstanding items

Speakers noted several details still in process: final approvals from investors and funders for nonprofit occupancy of the office space; the precise long‑term occupant mix of the front retail/office area; whether Commerce City Police would occupy the rest space; and the timeline for nonprofit move‑ins. Jones said RTD passes are being offered to residents but take‑up has been low; staff noted seniors and children ride free on RTD under current policy, which may affect pass utilization.

Commissioner concerns focused on accountability and follow‑up: commissioners urged that the county assign staff ownership to track the county’s implicit expectations tied to the private activity bond participation and help connect potential nonprofit users to the space. County staff said economic development and community resiliency teams have been working on similar placement efforts for other housing projects and will coordinate a role going forward.

Ending

County and Commerce City staff agreed to continue follow‑up on tenant approvals and nonprofit move‑ins and to return to the board with updates as leases and agreements were finalized. The presentation highlighted that Junction 72 is operating as completed affordable housing stock adjacent to transit, with community space built to be used by residents and local providers but with certain occupancy and program details still being finalized.