The town of Ignacio did not want to deal with some state statutory provisions that cause restrictions on municipal development projects like the new Rock Creek subdivision.
That’s why the town looks to form its own housing authority.
“This was the best route for us to go,” town manager Mark Garcia said.
Garcia said the move would allow the town to obtain financing on Rock Creek and have a lender secure that debt, adding the town can better manage short-term debt that is associated with the project.
He also said the provisions prohibit long-term indebtedness and limit the time municipalities can obtain debt for housing to a single calendar year, adding that those provisions keep municipalities from mortgaging properties for indebtedness.
By becoming a housing authority, it allows the town to obtain longer-term debt and secure such debt with mortgages and liens on a property, Garcia said.
“Those dollars that will go into the homes themselves will be prepaid with the mortgages that the homeowners achieve,” Garcia said. “So, there’s no added debt service to any Ignacio (resident). It’s all (about) just trying to move this housing project forward. … If we’re going to achieve affordable workforce housing in our communities, this is one of the ways that we need to do it.”
Garcia said the town leveraged grant funds from the state and the Regional Housing Alliance in order to proceed with the project.
As an independent housing authority, the town will have its own set of bylaws.
Garcia said he hopes to have a public hearing on the town forming its own housing authority in the coming days, with the goal of officially forming it by mid-August.
The town will use roughly $622,000 worth of surplus funding from La Plata County and the state’s Incentives Grant Program for infrastructure improvements and construction on things like sidewalks and gutters, Garcia said.
The goal is to have 10 units, which were part of Phase 1 of the project, completed by the end of August.
Garcia said he hopes those units will be sold and ready for people to move into sometime between Halloween and the end of 2024.
“We will be looking for qualified homebuyers that will meet the income restrictions on that and have the ability to borrow,” he said, adding the project will proceed with the next 11 homes as part of Phase 2.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
