KeyBank recently provided $36.3 million for the new construction of Elevate at Aurora, a 137-unit multfamily project in Aurora by developer Columbia Ventures.
Elevate at Aurora will include low-income units for households at 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% of area median income (AMI) in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The project will also include construction of a new community service facility which will primarily serve as the Aurora location for CrossPurpose, a nonprofit provider of workforce development services and Living Hope Community Church, a bilingual church that provides before and after‐school programming. Elevate at Aurora’s unique collaborative approach will create opportunities for economic mobility for residents and the broader community. Affordable rents will decrease the economic strain of being rent‐burdened, while CrossPurpose will offer residents and the Aurora community growth pathways through leadership,
entrepreneurship and career development programs.
KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) provided $30 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity, including $5.5 million of Colorado State tax credit equity, and $292,744 of Solar tax credit equity. KeyBank CDLI also provided a $6.3 million equity bridge loan. KeyBank Commercial Mortgage Group placed $31.245 million in private activity bonds through one of its capital markets investors, structured as a construction-to permanent-Tax-Exempt Loan (TEL).
The project sponsor, Columbia Ventures, LLC is a commercial real estate developer with offices in Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA and Denver that focuses on urban infill multifamily mixed-use campus development. The Housing Authority of City of Aurora serves as Special Limited Partner.
Tax Exempt bonds were issued by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. The project received state support including a $4.7 million loan from the Colorado Division of Housing, as well as a $800,000 Capital Magnet Fund loan and a $190,000 Capital Magnet Fund grant from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. The project also received local support including a $1 million in federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds and $750,00 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the City of Aurora.
Kortney Brown and Sara Geis of KeyBank CDLI structured the balance sheet financing. Hector Zuniga of KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the construction-to-perm Tax-Exempt Loan.
