$4.8M Awarded In First Round Of Colorado's Pioneer MIHTC Program
Developers are beginning to receive Colorado’s inaugural middle-income housing tax credits, a program the state is pioneering in an attempt to encourage more affordable rental housing.
Three projects were awarded around $4.8M in tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for the inaugural round of the middle-income housing tax credit program to support the construction of 220 new units. The projects awarded are the Park Place Apartments and Elmwood North in Denver and St. Louis Landing in Fraser.
The Park Place Apartments at 1275 Decatur St. in the Sun Valley neighborhood received $1.65M. Evergreen Real Estate Group, the developer, plans to build 80 three- and four-bedroom units and said the project aims to fill the gap in affordable housing inventory for families.
“Of the nearly 30,000 units under construction in metro Denver, virtually none are designed for middle-income families with three or more members,” Jovanni Butler, Evergreen vice president of development, said in an email. “Park Place is not just aligned with market demand — it is correcting a systemic absence of product.”
Evergreen expects to start construction in fall 2026 following the demolition of an existing commercial building.
North of Denver, the Elmwood North project from Delwest Development Corp. received $1.65M and will bring 70 four-bedroom units to 8000 N. Pecos St.
In Fraser, the St. Louis Landing project received $1.5M for 70 units, including studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The credits target developments serving middle-income residents, defined as making between 80% and 120% of the area median income, or up to 140% of the area median income in rural resort counties. The five-year pilot program is authorized to award $5M in 2025 and 2026 and $10M in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
The program aims to increase affordable middle-income housing inventory to better meet the demand, which has been strong in recent years as more residents have become cost-burdened, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority Communications Specialist Matt Lynn said in an email.
Cost-burdened households are those that spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The MIHTC program is the first of its kind in the country.
In the last decade, the number of middle-income households that are rent-burdened has increased 48%, according to CHFA. Around 47% of all Colorado renters are housing cost-burdened.
“Due to their incomes, these residents don’t qualify for housing supported with traditional affordable rental housing resources, particularly in communities with high housing costs and limited housing supply,” Lynn said.
For the first round of funding, CHFA received 12 letters of intent and five applications, ultimately awarding credits to three projects. Properties that receive the credits are required to stay affordable for a minimum of 15 years.
CHFA estimates the private sector equity generated from the 2025 credits will be more than $16.4M.
To evaluate the success of the program, Lynn said key metrics will be the number of units created, developer interest and participation, and, “most importantly, resident occupancy and long-term viability of the properties supported.”
A previous program, the middle-income access program, which ran from 2017 to 2024, helped support the construction of more than 1,400 affordable units in Colorado. In 2024, legislators passed a bill establishing the five-year pilot MIHTC program to replace the access program.
The next funding round for the MIHTC program will begin in March, with awards to be announced in summer 2026.
