Committee advances partial covenant release for CAPA Tower 3; residents and councilmembers press managers over online rent system

Aug. 5 — The Denver Community Planning and Housing Committee on Tuesday voted to send to the full City Council a request to partially release the affordability covenant on CAPA Tower 2 so a proposed CAPA Tower 3 senior housing project can move forward, while members pressed property managers about a recent switch to an online rent portal that tenants say has caused payment difficulties.

The request before the committee would allow the developer and the city to place a new covenant on the vacant portion of the CAPA Tower 2 lot and fund the separate CAPA Tower 3 project. Autumn Bueller, an asset manager in the Housing Stability Department, told the committee CAPA Tower 2 is at 9020 East Northfield Boulevard in Central Park and was funded with $700,000 from the city—s affordable housing permanent funds closed in July 2020. Bueller said CAPA Tower 2 contains 70 units and that the original loan includes a covenant period of not less than 60 years.

"We were looking to come to city council for release on so that we could develop that into what is being called CAPA Tower 3 for additional senior housing," Bueller said. She said the city plans to fund CAPA Tower 3 with $1,050,000 from the linkage fee fund and that the city—s request to the committee was to allow a partial release of the existing covenant so a new covenant can be placed on CAPA Tower 3.

Bueller described CAPA Tower 3 as 30 additional senior housing units and provided the AMI breakdown she said the project will include: "12 at 50% AMI, 9 at 40, and another 9 at 30% with another, 60 years added." The…