Plans to build 60 affordable homes on land currently owned by the city of Fort Collins got their first public review Monday night during a neighborhood meeting.
Nearby homeowners, many living in adjacent Observatory Village, were less than enthusiastic about what they said would be more traffic, loss of mountain views and feared harm to a stand of cottonwoods that are home to bald eagles and red-tailed hawks.
Indianapolis developer TWG Development LLC is partnering with Housing Catalyst of Fort Collins, Elevation Community Land Trust in Denver and the city of Fort Collins to build two-story townhomes at 3620 Kechter Road in south Fort Collins.
The 5-acre parcel is currently part of the city's land bank — property the city has purchased over the years and set aside for affordable housing.
The Kechter site, near the intersection with Lady Moon Drive, is intended for homeowners making less than 80% of the area median income, or roughly between $65,000 and $75,000 for a family of four.
Fort Collins' AMI this year is $94,100 for a family of four, up from $87,200 in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sets the AMI. Eighty percent of that would be just over $75,000.
Given the economic hardships caused by COVID-19, next year's AMI is likely to drop, which would mean more lower-income families might qualify to buy the townhomes.
City guidelines generally suggest homeowners spend no more than 38% of gross income on housing costs, said Sue Beck-Ferkiss, the city's social policy and housing programs manager.
Deeds will have income restrictions in place so the units remain affordable as they are sold and resold. Elevation Land Trust will buy the units from TWG and sell them to lower-income families.
Worries include traffic and trees
Kechter Townhomes will be adjacent to Twin Silo Park, the city's newest community park, and is just down the road from Zach Elementary and Fossil Ridge High schools.
Many of the roughly four dozen residents attending the virtual meeting said traffic around Zach Elementary is already "quite hectic" and adding 60 to 120 more cars from the Kechter Townhome project would be an accident waiting to happen.
The city is "well aware of the challenges" around Zach traffic and is already working with Poudre School District on issues, said traffic engineer Martina Wilkinson. "This project will be part" of those discussions.
As part of the plan, Quasar Way and Eclipse Lane will be extended. Though they have been stubbed since before Observatory Village was built, they were designed as future street connections to be built when the adjacent property was developed, city planner Clark Mapes said.
"Once people buy houses on streets that are stubbed, those people who have houses will often advocate (the roads) not be extended," he said. "But plans have been in place since before Observatory Village was there."
A couple residents suggested moving the project to Harmony Road, where homes would be closer to public transportation and away from the congestion around the schools.
"It's not a simple thing to take this and put it somewhere else or sell it and use the money to (buy land) to put it somewhere else," Mapes said. "The land bank bought it for this purpose and this plan fulfills that."
The other concern for residents is a stand of cottonwood trees that are home to eagles, owls and red-tailed hawks, they said.
As part of its development review, the city will require an ecological characterization study to assess the habitat, said Scott Benton, a city environmental planner. "There's a strong suspicion it's a communal roost and only used in winter," he said.
Russ Lee, a consultant with Ripley Design, said the developer will make whatever changes it needs to make to accommodate the birds.
When would homes start going up?
TWG hopes to get through the city's approval process this year and break ground in spring 2021 with completion set for fall 2022.
Previously, TWG said homes would likely be sold for between $250,000 and $290,000, far below Fort Collins' median home price of $440,000.
The median sales price for a townhome or condo in Fort Collins through the first six months of the year was $310,000, up 3.4% from last year. The median sales price in June alone was $309,900, up 8% from June 2019.
If approved, this will be the second land bank project since the program began 14 years ago. In 2016, Fort Collins sold land from the bank to Housing Catalyst for the 86-unit Village on Horsetooth. That project was all rental property.
Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.
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