El Paso County commissioners have approved tax breaks for a 137-unit affordable housing apartment complex in the city’s Southeast.
Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority will oversee the project, to be built by the Kansas-based Cohen-Esrey Development Group.
Construction on the four-story, $35 million development at the intersection of South Academy Boulevard and Verde Drive — called the Lofts at 1609 — is slated to begin in late October or mid-November. It’s expected to be complete in May 2023.
The complex will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with rents ranging from $459 to $1,485 a month — 17-25 percent lower than market rate.
They’ll be available to tenants earning up to $57,000 annually.
Documents from Cohen-Esrey say the developers will prioritize partnerships with women-, veteran- and minority-owned businesses as well as Springs-based companies, and the complex will promote “healthy living and Bronze level of National Green Building Standards along with fitness room, playground and utilization of open staircases, pets/dog park and good open space.”