Bridge Loan
The Loveland Housing Authority Project
What CCEF
Financed
Solar
Heat Pump
About the Project
Project investment: $3,729,000
Location: Loveland
Environmental highlights:
- Solar energy
- Heat Pumps
Key terms:
- Affordable Housing: Housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index.
“We really appreciate how seamless the whole interaction was with CCEF. The staff on the financing side was great to work with, and we’re just happy to be able to count CCEF as a partner.”
– Eric Hull, Director of Real Estate Development for Loveland Housing Authority
The Story
Loveland Housing Authority (LHA) specializes in affordable housing for low-to-middle income families and individuals in the Loveland, Colorado area. They strive to serve folks earning 30-60% of the area median income (AMI) while providing long-term affordable rentals and homeownership opportunities. As an innovative, community-oriented housing company, LHA was called upon by the community, city council, and residents to address the issue of homelessness and working families that can no longer afford to buy or rent a home in what used to be a market-rate affordable location. LHA decided to partner with the Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) to finance their all-electric single and multi-family unit homes.
LHA brainstormed how the company could think outside the box to fill the missing middle housing space that Loveland no longer catered towards. To address this issue, LHA has acquired approximately 50 acres of vacant land from nearby Crossroads Church for 319 all-electric affordable housing units for rent and ownership. LHA worked with Habitat for Humanity, Crossroads Church, and Impact Development Fund (IDF) to build this diverse neighborhood that hit many of the checkpoints the community requested for these affordable housing units.
IDF suggested that LHA work with CCEF to finance their energy project and go all-electric. Megan Ferguson, Deputy Executive Director for IDF, advised LHA that CCEF would be the best fit both financially and for their overall values of energy efficiency and environmental safety. She advised that CCEF would be the smoothest, easiest organization to go through for financing their clean energy project.
LHA has saved approximately $300,000 upfront by financing their all-electric units since there was no longer a need to drag gas lines into the property. By playing to LHA’s tradition of efficiency and environmental protection, going all-electric has created units that are more efficient and economically friendly than the current market rate.
Hull spoke about how he and Jeff Feneis, LHA Executive Director, are excited to incorporate other components like trails and connections to open space while preserving the surrounding wetlands. With so many working families occupying these spaces, Crossroads Church offered to provide affordable daycare, helping to manage the community in a non-evangelical way, and allowing working parents to have one less task to worry about during their day. The goal behind these housing units is to support the people who live in these homes and the opportunities it creates for them. CCEF and LHA hope to continue their relationship in other aspects of LHA’s future projects.
