Housing Authority, partners maintain affordability at Eagle Villas Apartments

Eagle County recently issued the following press release on the Eagle Villas Apartments:

June 17, 2024 – On June 14, Denver-based Ulysses Development Group (UDG), in partnership with the Eagle County Housing and Development Authority (ECHDA) and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, closed on the purchase of Eagle Villas Apartments. Eagle Villas, located in the Town of Eagle, is a 120-unit apartment complex that has provided affordable housing to residents with incomes between 45-60% AMI at rental rates at 45-60% AMI since the mid-1990s. This purchase ensures that the housing complex will remain affordable for residents.

The owner of Eagle Villas listed the property for sale last year and began marketing it as free market property. The Land Use Restrictive Agreement (LURA), the mechanism that restricts the rents and incomes of the tenants, applied to 100 of the 120 units and would have expired at the end of 2024. To preserve the affordability of the units at Eagle Villas, ECHDA provided $6.5 million in subordinate debt to the project to assist in the acquisition. In exchange, UDG agreed to place an updated LURA on the property for the next 60 years, keeping the rental rates unchanged.

“For all the tremendous efforts Eagle County puts forth to create new affordable units, the potential loss of 100-120 existing affordable units would have been devastating to the community,” said county commissioner Matt Scherr. “We are thrilled to partner with UDG and assist in the purchase of Eagle Villas, preserving the affordability of these invaluable units.” 

The National Equity Fund (NEF), a non profit lender committed to financing affordable housing, provided $27 million. Additionally, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) provided $5M in subordinate debt from its Transformational Affordable Housing Loan Fund program to assist in the acquisition. ECHDA is also providing the project a property tax exemption. “The acquisition of Eagle Villas was a real team effort,” said Tori Franks, Eagle County’s Resiliency Director. “We are grateful for UDG’s enthusiastic and relentless pursuit to get this acquisition to closing and are excited to be working alongside with NEF and DOLA on such an important project.”

UDG plans to resyndicate or refinance the project utilizing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in early to mid 2025. Through the LIHTC resyndication long term debt will be placed and funding will be made available to make capital and sustainability upgrades to the property. Additionally, $3.5 million of the ECHDA loan will be repaid, the $5 million DOLA loan will be repaid, all with the affordability of the units maintained.

For more information, contact Tori Franks at 970-328-8775 or at tori.franks@eaglecounty.us.