Arvada approves $850,000 loan, tax-exemption partnership and $2M state grant for Marshall Pointe Apartments

The Arvada Housing Authority on Jan. 6 approved a resolution to loan Marshall Pointe Apartments LP $850,000 and to subordinate that loan behind a Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) permanent loan, and later the City Council approved a separate $2 million state grant to help pay system development charges for the same project.

The Marshall Pointe Apartments development at 5170 Marshall Street will include 260 affordable units restricted to households averaging 60% of area median income (AMI); 13 units will be reserved for households earning 30% AMI or less and paired with on-site supportive services from Family Tree. The housing authority vote on the loan passed 5–1; the special limited partnership agreement that grants tax exemptions passed 5–1. The Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) awarding a $2,000,000 grant to the project on a 6–0 vote.

Why it matters

Marshall Pointe bundles multiple public subsidies — a construction loan, low-income housing tax credit equity, a CHFA permanent mortgage, a subordinated municipal loan and tax exemptions — to produce 260 long-term income-restricted units, including supportive housing. Supporters said the layered financing was necessary to close a narrow funding gap; at least one commissioner objected that local taxpayer subsidies were too large relative to the city’s contribution.

Financing and project structure

Ben Taylor, vice president with Lincoln Avenue Communities, said the total development cost is “approximately $120,000,000.” He told the authority that combined land and construction costs total about $70,000,000 and that roughly $50,000,000 covers financing costs (construction-period interest, fees and other soft costs). Taylor said the project is structured around a roughly $100,000,000 construction loan (36 months) from JPMorgan Chase at “around a 7% interest rate,” and that the…