KeyBank Provides $36.3 Million of Financing for Affordable Multifamily Housing in Colorado

CLEVELAND, October 17, 2023 /3BL/ – KeyBank provided a $36.3 million for the new construction of Elevate at Aurora, a 137-unit family project in Aurora, CO. 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).

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 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.

The project sponsor, Columbia Ventures, LLC is a commercial real estate developer with offices in Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA, and Denver, CO that focuses on urban infill multi-family 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 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.

About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank’s platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 10 consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act’s passage in 1977.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp's roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $195 billion at June 30, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.