Denver TOD Fund expands to region

The Denver Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Fund is expanding to include the seven-county metro area.

The $24 million regional fund will be issued to finance property acquisition and pre-development loans for developers creating and preserving affordable homes along transit corridors in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.

"Affordable housing is a critical issue not just for the city but for our entire metro area," says Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. "The Denver TOD Fund has proven itself to be a successful tool in ensuring that low- and moderate-income families benefit from the buildout of our mass transit system."

The Denver Regional TOD Fund will focus on affordable housing preservation and development within a half mile of light and commuter rail and a quarter mile of high-frequency bus routes. The expanded fund aims to create 2,000 new affordable homes and other supportive community facilities near transit by 2014. Community developments financed through the fund will provide affordable for-sale homes for  families earning below 95 percent of area median income and affordable rental homes that will serve families earning below 60 percent of AMI, or $46,000 for a family of four. Typical monthly rents will range from $400 to $1,000, depending on unit size and household income.

The expansion of the fund was made possible by investments from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and the Colorado Division of Housing. The first Denver TOD Fund, administered by Enterprise Community Partners Inc., launched in 2010 with $13.5 million in lending capital and $1.5 million of committed equity from the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) as sole borrower.

"Enterprise is extremely proud to be able to announced the Denver Regional TOD Fund," says Brad Weinig, who led the expansion effort on behalf of Enterprise. "We cannot express enough gratitude to our investors and partners who have trusted us to lead this work and to ULC for proving that this model can work."

Contact Confluence Denver Development News Editor Margaret Jackson with tips and leads for future stories at margaret@confluence-denver.com.