As the first Middle Income Housing Authority project in the state of Colorado, the town of Granby’s Nuche Village was well-supported by both state and local partners at its conception.

Nearly eight months into the construction process, homes are nearing completion. However, for-sale units have yet to close, realtors and construction companies have gone unpaid and infrastructure work on the rental units is on pause until the town receives its promised funding.

“The financials are scary, and many of the people that you see in this room are feeling a little misled by where we are at at this point in time, said Town Manager Ted Cherry at a Nov. 18 Board of Trustees meeting. “But we are all actively trying to fix this and to work through it.”

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After former Assistant Town Manager Nicole Schafer, who took on a major role in the housing project, was fired from her position on Oct. 28, project partners and Granby trustees have been reorganizing finances and working to deliver the affordable workforce housing promised to the community.

According to Cherry, a number was presented for the cost of the development’s rental units that was “four and a half to seven and a half million dollars short of where It should have been,” and a financial team has been working to decipher and recalculate costs.

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However, many involved with the project expressed optimism at the Nov. 18 town meeting that although move-ins and construction are behind schedule, and funding hangs in uncertainty, the town of Granby will deliver on its promise.

“All of the entities are on board with the project still,” Cherry stated in an email. He said he is still hopeful that phase one of the development will be finished by spring of next year, but until the financial gaps are sorted, the timeline remains unclear.

As project partners push through challenges, Nuche Village’s history and progression can be traced back to discussion and decisions at recent town meetings.

May 13: Realtor approved for Nuche Village sales

During the Board of Trustees meeting, Schafer announced Lindsey Morrow as the sole finalist to be the project’s realtor. Morrow’s contract was approved to include an $11,000 realtor fee per home sold for the 29 attainable units. 

Some trustees, including Seth Stern, raised concerns about the costs associated with Morrow’s contract. Trustee Chris Michalowski said that because homebuyers cover the realtor expense, they will have to stomach the costs through higher mortgage fees and down payments. 

Morrow said that her role includes extensive buyer education, outreach and assistance with logistics such as insurance and deed restriction guidance. Additionally, trustees agreed that the contract would apply only to phase one of the project.

June 10: Line of credit approved for construction costs

Trustees approved a $5 million line of credit from general taxpayer funds to finance the construction of 29 attainable for-sale units in Nuche Village, following a recommendation from Schafer. 

The town had the option to receive the $5 million construction loan from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, which carried significant costs in interest, origination and legal fees, according to a packet Schafer presented to the board at a Dec. 10, 2024 board meeting. By borrowing the money from general funds, the costs and interest rate were lowered significantly.

Finance Director Derek Assmann said he was comfortable with the financial risk of borrowing taxpayer money for phase one of construction, noting repayment would rely on home sales, which he said would be “really hard to project.” Town attorney Nathan Krob said the resolution authorized the town’s use of short-term rental revenue to cover any shortfall on repayment of the borrowed $5 million.

Sept. 23: Sales update and move-in timeline presented

Schafer announced that the first three Nuche Village triplexes would be ready as soon as Oct. 27 or as late as Nov 10. The first home closing at Nuche Village was expected for Nov. 3. 

She said the town planned to sell the first nine townhomes by early November, immediately followed by single-family and duplex units by Nov. 17. The remaining four triplex buildings were slated for closures in early December, with the first move-ins for a portion of the 75 rental apartments targeted between Dec. 1 to 15. All 29 homes were expected to sell and the apartments would house 30 residents before the end of the year, she said. 

A tiered priority system ensured local workforce would get priority housing: six staff members of the town of Granby, two Grand Fire employees and 12 first responders were named as future residents by Schafer. In addition, she said employees from the East Grand School District, Grand County Historical Association, Middle Park Health and other local organizations had committed to living at Nuche Village.

Immediate sales would generate $5.5 million, according to Schafer, allowing the town to pay off its line of credit approved in June.

Schafer reported additional funding news, including $750,000 from the Department of Local Affair’s Energy Impact Fund for phase two development and a pending approval of $539,000 from a Housing Development and Preservation Grant, which would reduce middle townhome prices from $344,000 to $328,000. 

For phase two of development, the town secured $7.6 million in Proposition 123 concessionary debt to develop 75 for-rent units, with plans for the Middle Income Housing Authority to assume ownership of the units once revenue bonds are sold.

Oct. 14: Concessionary debt approved

Trustees passed an ordinance to receive $7.6 million of low-interest concessionary debt funding from the state, adopting a “moral obligation” ordinance holding them accountable for covering the bond payments if Nuche Village apartments do not generate enough rent money.

To prevent construction delays, the state arranged an advanced deposit for Granby to receive roughly half of the $7.6 million amount upfront.

Oct. 28: Financials and leadership reorganization

Due to delays in finalizing the Housing Authority documents, which contain the contractual terms by which homeowners in the community are bound, Morrow said she was unable to close on any of the townhomes — which contradicted Schafer’s Sept. 23 report. She said she would be able to close on homes 30 days after the documents are sent to the Land Title Guarantee Company and recorded with the county.

The next round of lottery applications closed on Nov. 10, with a lottery scheduled for the week of Nov. 17, Morrow said. 

Town Manager Ted Cherry presented a purchase and sales agreement, as well as Nuche Village Resident Association documents for the sales of Nuche Village homes. Adoption of the purchase and sales agreement was approved to allow Morrow to move forward to get buyer contracts in place. Trustees also approved a declaration of housing covenants, conditions and restrictions, with revisions.

The town manager also announced at the end of the meeting that Schafer, who was largely responsible for development and financial plans for Nuche Village, had been fired from her position as assistant town manager for “lying” to her supervisor.

An agenda item from Schafer, which trustees did not speak on at the meeting and which Cherry later said contained inaccurate financial information, cited a $2.1 million loss due to projected year one sales revenue coming up short.

The memo projected revenue from the sale of seven townhomes at $11,792,000 — about $502,145 below the initial Year 1 forecast. However, the townhomes would offer homeownership opportunities for workers earning up to 100 percent of Grand County’s Area Median Income.

Nov. 18: Open house and timeline extensions

The first 9 triplex units, 4 duplex units and 2 single-family homes are expected to be completed by Dec. 8, according to a Nov. 18 memo from Cherry. The sale of these homes will generate $6,301,491. 

He stated in the memo that he expects the remaining homes to be completed as follows: two single-family by Dec. 31, six triplex units by Jan. 7 and six triplex units by Jan. 15. However, completion will depend on securing $539,000 in Proposition 123 funding. The grant is intended to buy down the middle units of the townhomes, but this funding is not guaranteed until Granby and state authorities are able to get through the contract process, Cherry told Sky-Hi News.

As for home sales, no units have closed until sales contracts for the homes are finalized.

“The only hiccup that I think that we’re trying to work through still is the sales contract that was approved at the last meeting, but we’re still trying to get the warranty figured out,” Cherry said during the meeting.

The rental portion of Nuche Village is facing delays in the bond issuance from state authorities, including the Middle Income Housing Authority, that are impacting its funding and progress. Without the bond money, Vederra Modular, the project’s building company, cannot be paid for their work, according to the memo.

The town had previously notified people who signed up to receive a rental unit that they could expect the units to be ready by the end of November through December of 2025. However, due to delays in the allocation of state bond funds, the town is “unsure when the apartments would be available,” stated the memo.

A representative from the Middle Income Housing Authority did not attend Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, however in an email to Sky-Hi News, Communications Director Alissa Johnson from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade said that “no issuance date has been set for a MIHA bond closing for the Nuche Village development.”

“MIHA is working with Nuche Village to finalize documentation and the budget prior to determining a date for the bond issuance and loan closing,” Johnson stated. “Once the documentation and budget are final, the closing date will be set.”

The financial model of Nuche Village draws upon several different funding sources from the town itself and the state of Colorado, and was described in Cherry’s memo as “very complicated.”

A separate memo from the financial consultant company Hilltop Securities laid out a plan for the financial model moving forward that hopes to minimize the town’s exposure under its moral obligation to repay borrowed funds. According to the memo, the rental units will likely be fully leased mid-way through 2026, and no revenue will be collected until then.

Interest on the bonds and Proposition 123 loan will be paid from capitalized interest for two years, which protects the town if the apartments take longer to build and rent out. Annual excess revenue will create a surplus fund to pay back debt on the Middle Income Housing Authority bonds, the Hilltop memo stated.

“A deep dive is happening into the finances, but has not been completed at this time,” stated Cherry in his memo. “We believe that costs for 2025 will be approximately $16.5 million with total work order amounts being $18.3 million.”

The rental portion’s projected revenue has not been determined, but revenue from the for-sale units will generate $11,905,903 — about $388,000 less than the number Schafer gave in her Oct. 28 financial update — and this amount will be recognized in 2025 and 2026. It does not reflect any realtor commissions paid to Morrow.

Trustees expect to discuss an initial acceptance of the infrastructure, which will allow certificates of occupancy to be given to the for-sale homes, at their Dec. 9 meeting, and final construction work on phase one of Nuche Village will be completed by late April 2026, according to the memo.

Additionally, Cherry stated that the town’s $5 million line of credit created in June will be paid back to the general fund with a 3% interest rate as the town collects sales proceeds from the homes.