Centennial to put $6.95 million private-activity bond cap on Aug. 19 agenda for South Metro Housing Options' 'Starlight' project

Centennial city officials on Aug. 5 signaled support for assigning the city’s full 2025 private‑activity bond cap—$6,955,326—to South Metro Housing Options (SMHO) to help finance a 73‑unit affordable housing project called Starlight near Littleton, with a formal resolution slated for the council’s Aug. 19 consent agenda.

The request matters because private‑activity bonds are tax‑exempt financing that can lower mortgage interest rates for projects that use low‑income housing tax credits. Sarah Burr, Real Estate Development Manager for South Metro Housing Options, told the council the project’s total cost is about $32 million and that the development requires roughly $17 million in PABs overall. “We are here today to request the entirety of your private activity bond cap of $6,900,000, $6,955,326 to be exact,” Burr said.

SMHO said it will be owner, developer and property manager for Starlight, a four‑story building at West Littleton Boulevard a half‑mile from Centennial’s border. The development would include 11 studios, 47 one‑bedrooms and 15 two‑bedrooms and on‑site amenities including leasing staff, a courtyard and a fourth‑floor patio. SMHO also said the project will use federal and state low‑income housing tax credits and that most financing sources are private investors who rely on the PAB allocation to achieve a lower interest mortgage.

Council members asked procedural and timing questions. Council member Sheehan asked whether the city issues the bonds or merely assigns its allocation; Burr replied the city would assign its cap and the city’s bond attorney would prepare necessary documents. Sheehan also asked about administrative costs; Burr said there are none to the city. Burr told the council she has already secured assignments from the City of Littleton ($2,900,000), from Arapahoe County (about $5,880,000) and from the City of Englewood ($2,100,000), bringing the project’s PAB commitments toward the $17 million need.

Mayor and council members praised the project; no final assignment vote occurred Aug. 5. The staff‑level next step is a resolution on the Aug. 19 council docket that, if adopted, would formally assign Centennial’s 2025 PAB cap to South Metro Housing Options.

What the city will (and will not) do: council members and staff said the assignment is an administrative allocation of the city’s annual PAB cap; the city emphasized this is not a direct cash expenditure by Centennial but an assignment of its federally constrained bond allocation for 2025.

Speakers from the meeting provided input, asked clarifying questions and expressed support; project proponents invited council members to tour SMHO’s completed and under‑construction properties.