Residences at Granite Park Workforce Housing

Residences at Granite Park Overview

The Town of Frisco and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) partnered to build 22 units of workforce housing in the core of Frisco, close to public transportation, shops, restaurants, recreational pathways, and sidewalks. This unique partnership allowed the Town to secure a $1.5 million dollar grant through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to bring these energy efficient and walkable homes to reality for community members who work in Summit County and for CDOT.

The project consists of 22 apartment-style units split among two 3-story buildings. The unit mix is five (5) studio, eleven one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units. Half of the units (11) are reserved for CDOT employees, to ensure that CDOT has housing opportunities for those that maintain the critical transportation infrastructure in the community, and the other half of the units (11) are being made available for rent to residents employed in Summit County on average a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Residences at Granite Park Rental Opportunities

The Town of Frisco owns 11 of the units and is making them available for rent to community members employed in Summit County on average a minimum of 30 hours per week.

• Rents are capped at 80% annual median income (AMI), but rent amounts are being set at a 75% AMI level.
  • Studio (2 units): $1,599.38
  • 1-bedroom (6 units): $1,713.75
  • 2-bedroom (3 units): $2,056.88
• The units are deed restricted and will be available to anyone meeting the income requirements and work requirements of working at least 30 hours per week on an annual basis in Summit County.
• The property has EV charging stations for units with electric vehicles, along with covered parking for residents.

February 2025 Housing Lottery

The Town of Frisco is holding a housing lottery run by Summit Combined Housing Authority for the 11 Town of Frisco owned units.

• From February 10 to February 16, 2025 at 11:59pm- Pre-screen application available to complete through the Summit Combined Housing Authority website.
• Night of Monday, February 17, 2025- Lottery completed.
• Tuesday, February 18, 2025- Lottery results posted.
• Move in as early as March 1, 2025 and flexibility to be as late as April 2025

Planning Agreement

On August 25, 2020, Frisco Town Council approved the Workforce Housing Planning Agreement (Agreement) between the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Town of Frisco (Town) to develop a workforce housing project on the low owned by CDOT located at 619 Granite Street, Lots 18-24, Block 12 in the Town of Frisco. The Agreement lays the foundation to jointly undertake all necessary actions to design and develop workforce housing units by requiring CDOT and the Town to share all costs 50/50 (excluding each agency’s staffing and personnel costs) not to exceed $200,000 to develop 80% construction drawings and final construction cost estimates to design the project by December 31, 2021. The agreement also sets forth the parameters regarding selection and engagement of professional consultants and contractors, and does not bind CDOT or the Town to final construction of a project.

Residences at Granite Park Design Process

After a thorough review of the 619 Granite Street Workforce Housing proposals, staff recommended a contract with Studio Architecture. While all of the proposals offered the requisite selection of architecture, engineering, and site planning services, the Selection Committee unanimously felt that the Studio Architecture team is the most qualified and best team for this project because of their high-quality architectural design and affordable housing project experience, and an approach that inherently led to cost savings in design, and ultimately construction.

On September 2, 2021 the Frisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the Major Site Plan Application for this proposed multi-family project.

• The design includes 22 units in two buildings; each building is three stories tall.
• The 22 unit types consist of five (5) studio units, eleven (11) one-bedroom units, and six (6) two-bedroom units.
• Eleven units will be made available at affordable rent levels for CDOT employees, and the remaining 11 units will be made available to employees that work for other businesses in the Frisco area.
• The design meets or exceeds all requirements of the Town Code and aligns with the established project goals, including affordability, in terms of both construction and long-term maintenance; maximizing the number of units; livability, particularly in terms of personal storage for tenants and parking availability; and sustainability.
• This project will also be built to the most current sustainability code and will be a great example of what can be accomplished with high-density housing developments.

Financing

Frisco Town Council approved the second reading of Ordinance 23-03, which authorizes the approval of the documents required to issue the 2023 Certificates of Participation (COPs), which in turn will finance the construction of Granite Park. The ordinance created a “lease-lease back” mechanism of funding by leasing the underlying property (Granite Park) to the Trustee (typically a large bank) for 30 years. The Trustee will remit to the Town the entire lease payment up front, an amount approximating $7.2M at which point the Town will use a portion of revenues received through unit rentals to repay the estimated $7.2M, plus interest, over 20 years, paid in semi-annual payments. Once the Town has paid the trustee all of the original amount borrowed plus the agreed interest, the lease- lease back arrangement is terminated, and the municipality gets its property back free from any encumbrance caused by the COPs.

• The ordinance also sets a top limit of 5% for the interest to be paid on the 2023 COP to account for the uncertainty of the interest rate but is anticipated that the interest rate will be under 4%.
• The maximum annual repayment cost of base rentals payable by the Town shall not exceed $580,000, and the total repayment cost shall not exceed $11,600,000;
• The aggregate principal amount of the Base Rentals payable by the Town under the lease with respect to the Certificates shall not exceed $7,300,000; and
• The purchase price of the certificates shall not be less than 98% of the aggregate principal amount.

$1.5M DOLA Innovative Housing Opportunities Incentive Grant

In 2022, the Town of Frisco and CDOT were joined in this unique partnership by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), which awarded $1.5 million to the Town of Frisco to help bring Residences at Granite Park to reality through their Innovative Housing Opportunities Incentive grants. The DOLA, through the Division of Local Government, awarded more than $18 million in funding across 13 counties in Colorado through this program. These 14 Innovative Housing Opportunities Incentive (IHOI) grants will provide 1,872 additional housing units, providing housing for approximately 4,867 people across Colorado.

Construction

On January 24, 2023, Frisco Town Council approved Resolution 23-07 to move forward with MW Golden Constructors for construction of Granite Park. MW Golden Constructors presented the Town with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $12,279,678 for this project. The updated construction schedule submitted with the GMP included a construction start date of April 17, 2023, with completion by November 1, 2024.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Town of Frisco, DOLA, and elected officials came together to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Granite Park Employee Housing Site in Frisco. While extensive excavation had already been done on the site starting in April, this was a chance to celebrate this unique partnership between the Town of Frisco and CDOT.