Additional senior affordable housing on the Cinnamon Park assisted living campus is another step closer to becoming a reality.
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, or CHFA, recently awarded the developer, Senior Housing Options, tax credits valued at $552,219 for 10 years. That’s a significant chunk of the expected $8.2 million price tag for the addition that will feature 25 studio and one-bedroom units.
The apartments will be available to low income seniors older than 62 who can live independently. Applicants must earn between 30% and 60% of area median income for Boulder County, which was calculated at $80,600 for a single person in 2020.
Rents will be tied to both the size of the unit and the renter’s annual earnings. At the low end of the scale, renters who earn just 30% AMI pay $796 for the smallest units. The scale tops out at $1,065 for applicants earning 60% of AMI and wanting to live in the largest units.
The apartments have been planned since 2015 and Senior Housing Options’ CEO Jim Goddard said that given a typical development time frame, full financing won’t be in place until March 2021. The building will welcome residents in 2022.
Future residents will benefit from the proximity to the campus’ assisted living building as they can join on- and off-campus events or contract for limited services. If they need to transition to more care, it will be an easy move, Goddard said.
One of the reasons the project was selected for CHFA financing was it meets a need, he said. “We completed a market study, which analyzed the number of seniors, their income levels, and vacancy levels for similar housing properties in the project’s primary market area. It showed us there was a high demand.”
Kathy Fedler, Housing and Community Investment manager for the city of Longmont, echoed Goddard’s statement.
“Cinnamon Park is providing 25 very needed affordable rental homes and every little bit helps,” she said.
Many seniors Fedler knows of are on limited incomes based on Social Security or Social Security Disability Insurance payments that don’t get them above the 30%t AMI range.
While the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that approximately 14% of Longmont’s 97,000-person population are older adults, according to Fedler there are just over 800 rental homes that are dedicated to seniors with 545 reserved for tenants earning 50% or less of AMI. Three mobile home parks for seniors offer another 238 units.
The city is adding its own financial support to the effort. It contributed $250,000 to the Cinnamon Park project and waived $120,000 in development fees, such as utility connections.
Other city initiatives are focused on preserving existing affordable housing stock at Aspen Meadows, a 50-unit building just off 21st Street. The city also is looking at acquiring market rate housing to convert to affordable housing and potential new construction of affordable units for all populations.
Other senior housing projects also are underway in Longmont. This fall, Balfour Senior Living will begin offering 100 combined independent living, assisted living and memory care units. There are other senior housing units that are being developed for sale, though not as rentals and not to serve low-income individuals.
CHFA’s determination that the Cinnamon Park project would receive tax credits is a sign the agency recognizes a need in the area. According to spokesperson Megan Herrera, when selecting recipients, the agency considers market conditions as well as a developer’s track record and the suitability of a proposed site. The Cinnamon Park project met or exceeded all criteria and was one of 14 projects to receive the credits out of 29 total applicants.
