Consultant outlines capital stacking and public–private partnerships; county housing project faces rising costs

Michael Yurman, a consultant who has assisted Lake County on housing since 2022, gave a presentation to the Planning Commission on March 10 on capital stacking, public–private partnerships and the development process for affordable housing. Yurman emphasized that closing the “affordability gap” generally requires coordinated public contributions (land, infrastructure, fee waivers, gap grants) combined with tax-credit equity and private debt.

Yurman described three phases he said local governments should prioritize: predevelopment (site selection, surveys, environmental reviews, market feasibility), vertical construction (builder selection and construction oversight), and completion/operation (permanent financing and deed restrictions). He urged the commission to focus on predevelopment tasks because they create lender and funder confidence and reduce the size of the required subsidy.

Key points made in the presentation and subsequent discussion - Capital stack basics: Yurman explained that affordable projects often need layers of funding — owner equity, tax-credit equity (for LIHTC projects), soft debt, grants, and fee waivers — to bridge the difference between construction costs and rents buyers can afford (the “affordability gap”). He noted CHFA (Colorado Housing Finance Authority) administers…