A plan in Fort Collins to build 140 condos on land north of Odell Brewing Company has resurfaced. The Tapestry development has gone through several years of planning and neighborhood meetings, and the proposed condos would be situated on 12 acres donated by the brewery's founders.
Tapestry developer Hartford Homes said the project is intended to serve the "missing middle."
Coloradoan Executive Editor Sarah Kyle joined KUNC's Michael Lyle, Jr.to discuss those plans and what led to the delays in the project coming to fruition.
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"Some of it was due to neighborhood meetings," said Kyle. "That's the normal process for developments like these. There were concerns about traffic and congestion — all pretty standard for any kind of housing project. But the past several months, Hartford Holmes has been working through a few issues. They cited conflicting design standards, getting the right easements, etc. But now that they have those, they're ready to move forward with this project."
Last month, the Colorado House passed a bill that supporters believe could help preserve affordable housing units. The bill was just one piece of a big legislative push during the session to increase housing inventory in the state.
Kyle said she believes a project of this nature could make a dent in the statewide housing crisis.
"It's really intended to help in a couple of ways," said Kyle. "One will have these 30 deed-restricted, affordable units built by Habitat for Humanity. But the rest of the units are really targeting that term term called the 'missing middle,' so that's people making between 80% and 120% of the area median income. And by targeting that group, it's really helping people, and at a time when interest rates are so high it's hard to get into get into the housing market. But this provides a good opportunity for that group of incomes."
Kyle added the project will likely take another year to get through the city's approval process before construction on the condos can begin, which will likely take place in the fall of 2025.
