Loveland Housing Authority (LHA) recently acquired the vacant property from Crossroads Church. Together with project partners Loveland Habitat for Humanity, Impact Development Fund / Impact Development Builders, and Mission Homes, the Legacy Crossing development team is leading the effort to plan and develop a transformative new mixed-income community that will establish a lasting legacy of housing affordability in Loveland.

As a first step, an open-house style “listening session” was held on October 4, 2023 at Crossroads Church. Many comments were received from the public on a variety of topics at that meeting, and the input is being utilized as part of the early
planning process. Once conceptual plans are submitted to the City of Loveland for their review, a formal neighborhood meeting will be held to provide the public with additional opportunities to ask questions and provide input. This meeting is anticipated to occur in early 2024. In the meantime, comments and questions are welcomed by emailing legacycrossing@lovelandhousing.org

The City must review development plans to ensure adherence to adopted development standards. Following conceptual project approvals, more detailed design and engineering plans must be submitted and approved, and permits granted before any grading or construction activity can commence.

It is anticipated that the initial conceptual land plan will be submitted to the City of Loveland in early 2024, with a neighborhood meeting to be scheduled in the same timeframe. Upon completion of the conceptual design reviews by staff, the project will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and City Council, anticipated in mid-late 2024. Following these reviews, final design plans for the horizontal improvements including grading, drainage, utilities, and streets will be prepared along with the requisite platting to complete buildable lots before site grading can begin. Grading, roads and utility construction are anticipated to be completed by mid-2025, and the finished lots will then be purchased by the project partners. The partners will then begin construction of homes. Full buildout of the homes could take a period of years.

Legacy Crossing will offer a diverse range of housing solutions, including home ownership single family detached, cottages, and paired homes, and rental multi-family apartments. With this mix of housing types, Legacy Crossing will provide both affordable rental housing and middle-income home ownership opportunities, enabling Lovelanders to achieve the dream of first-time, and ultimately long-term home ownership.

While the exact number of new housing units will be determined during the site design process, Mission Homes is seeking to provide approximately 100 single-family detached cottage units, Loveland Habitat for Humanity and Impact Development Builders will create approximately 70 single-family detached and paired homes, and LHA will add approximately 140 for-rent apartments.

‘Affordable’ housing means many different things to many different people; in fact, it has been said that all housing is affordable to someone. Many people assume that the term ‘affordable housing’ refers to the physical appearance of the property. In reality, the accepted industry definition of affordability is housing that costs 30 percent or less of a household’s income. At Legacy Crossing, affordability means providing a wide variety of homeownership and rental housing opportunities for Lovelanders earning 30% – 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). As a reference point, the AMI for a family of four in Larimer County for 2023 is $113,600 (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, 2023).

As a first step, the City of Loveland will require a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) to be prepared by a qualified traffic engineering firm. The TIS will identify potential problems that might influence traffic flow and suggest improvements to mitigate any negative impacts. These improvements will then be addressed in the design plans.

Sustainability is the centerpiece of the design philosophy for Legacy Crossing. The Legacy Crossing design team envisions a community that has been thoughtfully designed to respect the surrounding environment by protecting and enhancing existing wetland areas, providing open space buffers, and conserving precious water resources. As required by the City, an Environmental Site Assessment Report (ESAR) and wetland delineation will be prepared by a qualified biologist for the purpose of evaluating the environmental site conditions and to identify opportunities to protect sensitive environmental resources.
Sustainability

It is a common myth that affordable housing harms nearby property values. While many factors can influence property values, traditional market-rate neighborhoods adjacent to existing affordable communities in Loveland have enjoyed historic property value appreciation in recent years. The significant investment that affordable housing developments contribute to backbone infrastructure including road improvements, utility upgrades, and stormwater improvements support and enhance local property values. Further, a majority of studies nationwide demonstrate that affordable housing does not typically decrease property values or increase crime rates.

The Loveland Housing Authority is not part of the City of Loveland. However, the Loveland
Housing Authority was created by the City of Loveland in 1972, following the chartering
provisions described under Colorado law Section 29-4-201 C.R.S. , as a stand alone non-profit
tax-exempt organization. The Loveland Housing Authority is considered quasi-governmental,
meaning the agency is not a governmental entity but utilizes governmental funding programs to
achieve our mission of providing affordable housing opportunities for Loveland residents.

Operating as a stand-alone agency, the Loveland Housing Authority does not receive
operational funding support from the City of Loveland. The Loveland Housing Authority is
operationally self-sufficient, with salaries funded through business operations, and with program
administration fees earned through the administration of Federal and State housing programs.

Housing Authorities were established by the Federal government under the Housing Act of 1937
to administer Federal housing programs. By Federal statute, Housing Authorities must be
attached to a municipality (City, County, etc.) The Loveland Housing Authority meets this
requirement with the appointment of our volunteer Board of Directors by the Loveland City
Council, and by the appointment of one Loveland City Councilor as a liaison to our Board of
Directors. The City Council liaison attends each board meeting, but is not a voting board
member.

As a stand alone organization, the City of Loveland does not govern the Loveland Housing
Authority. However, the City of Loveland is an important partner of the Loveland Housing
Authority in meeting our shared goal of creating affordable housing opportunities for Loveland
residents.

The Loveland Housing Authority performs our own real estate development, and has
development professionals on staff. As appropriate, we also hire consultants such as
architects, engineers, land planners, etc.; to help us design and inform our developments.

The Loveland Housing Authority is held to the same development standards, municipal codes,
fees, etc.; as all other real estate developers, and must follow the same entitlement, design,
approval, and permitting processes.

Any affordable development project that applies for and is granted the Affordable designation by
the Affordable Housing Commission and City Council is eligible to benefit from development fee
waivers, administered by the Community Partnership Office. All real estate developers are
eligible for this; however, as trusted local partners, Loveland Habitat for Humanity and the
Loveland Housing Authority are given priority for available funding.

Unlike most real estate developers, the Loveland Housing Authority is mission rather than profit
driven. We are local, are proud Loveland community members, and expect to continue to own
and manage our real estate in perpetuity. We will add value to the Loveland community by
providing the highest quality affordable real estate developments possible, and we will be an
asset to the Loveland community.

The Loveland Municipal Code outlines the intention for the Planned Unit Development (PUD)
process, which is to provide for the creation of a zoning district that allows for a mix of land uses
and development standards. Once approved, the PUD establishes the land use and
development standards for the subject property as a separate and unique zoning district.

The property has an existing PUD. In 2001, the Loveland City Council approved the
Crossroads Addition GDP (now called a PUD), which contemplated a mix of land uses
including Residential (Conventional single-family detached, single-family patio homes, single-
family attached homes (townhomes)), Place of Worship, Neighborhood Commercial/Retail, and
Senior Housing.

The Legacy Crossing PUD and Concept Plan respects the boundaries and required buffers for
Wetland 1 (Natural Area #79), located on the eastern portion of the property. The small mapped
wetland that is a remnants of Natural Area #78, located adjacent to the church parking lot on the
western portion of the property, will also be unaffected by the project. While City code does not
require a setback or buffer between two single family developments, the Legacy Crossing PUD
and Concept Plan proposes a 30-foot minimum (50-foot average) buffer along the south
property line. There will also be open space, parks and a trail provided within the development.