After a little more than a year of construction and renovation, the Residences at Durango, a $35 million conversion of the Best Western Motel on U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango into 120 affordable apartment units, is almost ready for occupation.
Residences at Durango was originally projected to be completed by the end of 2024. However, the project was slightly delayed to complete work on a water main, said Mike French, prosperity officer for the city.
TWG Project Superintendent Neil Wagner said construction crews are unable to find the water main, which isn’t located where city documents said it should be. It’s frustrating, he said, but nonetheless, the 72 units inside the former motel building should be ready for occupancy by the end of the month.
Another 48 units being built in a new building on the property should be completed by August, he said.
French said the apartments were built based on a unique tax credit model with multiple levels of funding and partnerships with multiple organizations, including the city of Durango, La Plata County, TWG and Project Moxie, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing.
The goal was to create affordable housing targeting workers earning 30% to 60% of the area median income in La Plata County, or $26,520 to $53,040 for a two-person household.
The apartments consist of 120 units, with 72 units in the old motel building and another 48 units scheduled to be completed later this year. French said the units contribute significantly to the Regional Housing Alliance’s and Durango’s commitment to increase the region’s housing stock by 320 affordable housing units over the next three years.
According to data French provided, six units target 30% area median income: one studio apartment, two one- and two-bedroom apartments, and one three-bedroom apartment.
The studio apartment’s maximum rent is $580, while the maximum rent for the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments is $621, $746 and $862, respectively, the data show.
The remaining 114 units target 60% area median income: 43 studio apartments, 25 one-bedroom apartments, 27 two-bedroom apartments and 19 three-bedroom apartments.
The maximum rents at 60% area median income are $1,161 units for studios, $1,243 for one-bedroom units, $1,492 for two-bedroom units and $1,724 for three-bedroom units.
French said TWG already has a growing waitlist of tenants eager to move in.
He said Residences at Durango is the first motel-to-residential conversion in Colorado to utilize low-income housing tax credit financing, and likewise it’s the largest tax credit project in Southwest Colorado.
“The way that all of the partners came to the table and built the capital stack with different grants and loans and bonds really made this project happen. You don't get to $35 million without multiple sources and capital stacks,” French said.
He said that work was accomplished long before he took a job with the city in November, and credited former Durango Housing Innovation Manager Eva Henson for her vision and financing plan to make the Residences at Durango a reality.
“My predecessor here did a phenomenal job,” he said.
The city of Durango facilitated the purchase of the motel in 2021 with an earnest investment of $70,000 and $50,000 for due diligence work to ensure the project’s completion, according to an executive summary of the project.
The city and Project Moxie made a $7 million offer to purchase the motel and through a request for proposals process selected TWG to develop the apartments. TWG reimbursed the city’s earnest and due diligence payments totaling $120,000 and purchased the motel in 2022, according to the summary.
Development funding was obtained from the Colorado Division of Housing, the Housing Authority of the County of Montezuma, congressional directed spending, and private activity bonds from the city, county and Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, the summary said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
