A large affordable-housing complex in southeast Colorado Springs will be celebrated by developers and community supporters with a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

Panorama Heights, which began construction two months ago, will add 133 apartments to the inventory-distressed low- to moderate-income market.

“It’s a much-needed thing in our community,” said Jariah Walker, executive director of Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority.

“It’s a good-sized project, and the great thing about the site is that it’s in walking distance to the neighborhood

Walmart, on a bus line and close to a school, so it’s got some good resources,” he said.

The 3.3-acre vacant land south of the Fountain post office near Academy Boulevard will boast a four-story, all-electric building featuring one-, two- and three bedroom apartments.

But it will provide more than just affordable living, said Lisa Sorensen, Colorado development director for Cohen-esrey Development Group. The company is based in Merriam, Kan., and has an office in Denver.

“It’s intended to be a connection with the community,” she said.

For example, the building’s community center will offer financial counseling classes, job fairs and resume writing, tutoring and other identified needs of residents, Sorensen said.

To help determine what the community desires, the developer is working with RISE Southeast, a coalition that facilitates resident initiatives to help improve life in southeast Colorado Springs, which has higher poverty, lower life expectancy and less access to healthy choices than other parts of the city.

In addition to classes on various topics, public art by local artists will be incorporated into the development. And there will be a children’s play area and picnic grounds, bike storage, security cameras and structured parking, according to development plans.

“It’s important for building community, being good neighbors and expanding opportunities for our residents and the neighborhood,” Sorensen said of the features.

Planning for Panorama Heights began in the second quarter of 2020, and it is scheduled to open in the summer of 2024.

The apartments will be leased to households earning between 30% and 70% of area median income, which is $96,100 for a household of four.

Thirteen units will be set aside for homeless veterans and another 13 units will be rented to tenants who need handicapped accessibility.

“Affordable housing is a problem we’re all trying to solve,” Walker said. “Everyone’s trying to figure out how do we realize the tools we have to build more of it and make it as uncomplicated as possible.”

He cites complex financing and the fact that affordable housing doesn’t produce as much revenue as market-rate developments as the biggest barriers.

“You’ve got to find developers to take on that burden, and we essentially leverage all the tools we have to make them a reality,” Walker said.

The $45 million Panorama Heights is the first affordable housing development in Colorado Springs to obtain tax increment financing.

That means an estimated $2.3 million generated over 25 years in new property taxes from the site will be returned to the development instead of being disbursed among local governmental taxing entities.

The proposal earned 100% buy-in from the Pikes Peak Library District, Harrison School District 2, El Paso County, the city of Colorado Springs and the South Eastern Water Conservancy District, which all agreed to let Cohen-esrey retain future tax dollars to help pay for the project, Walker noted.

“Without Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority this project would not be viable,” Sorensen said.

Low-income tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, private bond allocation from El Paso County and HOME funding from the city of Colorado Springs also are contributing to fund the development, Sorensen said.

“Together, we overcame economic headwinds including inflationary construction costs, labor and supply chain constraints and rising interest rates to close this partnership,” she said.

Cohen-esrey Communities will manage the property.

This is the second affordable housing project Cohen-esrey is building in Colorado; Trails at Lehow in Englewood also is under construction.

The company will break ground this year on a second project in Colorado Springs, the Launchpad, a 50-unit affordable housing complex with support services for homeless young adults.

“We are very proud and honored to be part of the southeast Colorado Springs community,” Sorensen said.

“Colorado Springs is poised for a lot of growth in the next few years.”