Affordable housing plan on Odell Brewing property gets going again

Hartford Homes' plans to build 140 condominiums to meet the housing needs of the "missing middle" is picking up steam after lying low for several months.

Tapestry — a joint venture that brings together the private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors — has filed its project development plan with the city's planning office. The units are expected to be built north of Odell Brewing Co., on 12 acres donated by the brewery's founders.

Bordered by Buckingham and Third streets, Tapestry will include 30 deed-restricted, affordable units built by Habitat for Humanity for people earning between 45% and 80% of the area median income, or AMI.

Fort Collins' area median income is $90,900 for a two-person household and $113,600 for a family of four. A two-person household making 80% AMI would earn about $72,700; a family of four, about $90,850.

Hartford Homes' units will not be deed restricted but will target those earning up to 120% of AMI, or about $109,000 per year for two, said Patrick McMeekin, Hartford's president of land.

The missing middle is an often-used term to acknowledge high housing costs and lack of affordability for those making between 80% and 120% of the area median income. The median price of a single-family detached home in Fort Collins at the end of March was $616,000, up about 2% from the same time last year, according to the Fort Collins Board of Realtors. The median price for a townhome or condo: $392,500, roughly the same as last year.

Rising interest rates have jacked up the cost of a mortgage, slowing the red-hot real estate market from a year ago when low inventory and high demand resulted in multiple competing offers for the same property.

Getting back on track

Tapestry has been in the planning stages for more than two years and has gone through three neighborhood meetings, at which time several neighbors objected to the traffic and congestion the project would add to the area, while still praising the need for workforce and affordable housing in Fort Collins.

For the past several months, Hartford Homes has been working through "a number of issues" including conflicting design standards and securing offsite easements, McMeekin said. "With both of those accomplished, we decided to move forward."

Developers had been going down two simultaneous approval paths: one to rezone the land at the corner of Buckingham and Third streets from industrial to neighborhood conservation buffer zone, which is basically a transition zone from a commercial to residential area. Rezoning requires Fort Collins City Council approval. The second process was the development review, which would have required approval from a city hearing officer.

City staff instructed Hartford Homes to submit an application for an addition of permitted use, or APU, rather than rezoning the property.

The APU process allows staff to evaluate the project's compatibility with its surroundings and requires the applicant to compare the impact of their proposed residential development to other permitted uses in the industrial zone district. The project development plan will need approval from the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission, McMeeking said.

The project will likely take another year to get through the city's approval process before infrastructure work can begin in fall 2025, he said. Buildings won't start sprouting from the land until 2026, if approval is granted late next year.

With few undeveloped parcels in Fort Collins and little room to expand beyond its growth management area, the city has focused much of its efforts on infill development, creating new housing in established neighborhoods, increasing density and allowing taller buildings in areas.

Fort Collins-based Hartford Homes is absorbing all the costs of site development and will build the shell of the Habitat units, saving Habitat hundreds of thousands of dollars, Habitat CEO Kristin Candella has said.

The proposed development is for seven multi-family three-story buildings containing 20 dwelling units for a total of 140 units. A central park area on the east side of the site will include a gathering area and playground, according to plans.

In the past, the Odell site was used as a depository for precipitated calcium carbonate, a byproduct of beet processing from the area's decades-old sugar beet industry. The inert beet tailings will be removed from the site prior to construction.

Hartford Homes and Odell both have long histories with Habitat for Humanity. Hartford Homes President Landon Hoover is president emeritus of Habitat's board of directors and the company has set aside lots for Habitat in its Mosaic and Bloom projects in east Fort Collins.

Odell has worked with Habitat on three House that Beer Built projects that sparked a national house sponsorship model.

Habitat provides a no-interest loan to qualified homeowners. Homeowners pay a monthly mortgage payment that does not exceed 30% of their income. Habitat homeowners also save toward closing costs and contribute up to 500 hours of “sweat equity” in the building of their home.