Press release courtesy of MSURA.
The Manitou Springs Urban Renewal Authority (MSURA) is proud to announce that the long-vacant former La Fon/Paragon site at 123 Manitou Ave. has been awarded highly competitive federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), completing the project’s capital stack and making long-awaited affordable housing in Manitou Springs possible.
The development received an award of $1,613,506 in federal 9% housing tax credits to support the creation of 50 affordable rental housing units serving households between approximately 30% and 60% Area Median Income (AMI). The project will include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental units designed to support working families, local employees, seniors, artists, teachers, hospitality workers, healthcare workers, municipal employees, emergency responders, service industry workers, and multi-generational households who help sustain the Manitou Springs community.
For many connected to Manitou Springs, the project represents the first realistic opportunity in years to live within the community they serve. In resort and tourism-based communities like Manitou Springs, many working households earning between 30% and 60% AMI have increasingly been priced out of the local housing market, leading to longer commutes, workforce shortages, school enrollment pressures, and growing challenges maintaining a year-round community.
The project is expected to transform a long-blighted and underutilized gateway property into a vibrant multi-generational neighborhood while strengthening the local workforce, supporting local schools and businesses, stabilizing workforce retention, and helping preserve the social and economic diversity that has historically defined Manitou Springs. Community leaders also see the project as an important long-term housing option for aging residents wishing to downsize while remaining in the community, opening additional housing opportunities for younger families and workers.
This milestone was made possible through years of persistence and collaboration led by Paragon developers including Rich and John Block, and Seth Atkinson of TWG Development, together with leadership from Manitou Springs Urban Renewal Board as well as President Farley McDonough and Executive Director Electra Johnson, plus advocacy from the Manitou Housing Advisory Board and Board Chair Allison Gerbig, and the support of Mayor Natalie Johnson and the broader Manitou Springs community. This broader support includes advocacy by Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jenna Wells for housing for people who work in Manitou.
The project reflects years of work by housing advocates, local leadership, development partners, and public agencies committed to addressing one of the community’s most pressing challenges.
The award comes as part of CHFA’s highly competitive 2026 Round One Housing Tax Credit Allocation process. CHFA reported that 32 applications were submitted statewide requesting more than $53 million in federal 9% tax credits, with only 14 developments receiving awards. CHFA awarded a total of $23,003,741 in federal 9% tax credits statewide, supporting the construction of 634 affordable rental housing units across Colorado. The total private sector equity generated through awarded credits is expected to exceed $219 million.
“This award represents a transformational moment for Manitou Springs,” said Electra Johnson. “For years, the La Fon/Paragon site has sat vacant at one of the primary gateways into our community. This award allows us to finally move forward with a project that creates desperately needed housing for the people who work here, raise families here, serve this community, and want to remain part of Manitou Springs for generations to come.”
She added, “This project demonstrates that affordable housing is possible in small mountain and tourism communities when partnerships, persistence, and public commitment align. Keeping Manitou Springs special depends on making space for the next generation of families, artists, entrepreneurs, workers, teachers, and service people.”
The project team will now move into final design, permitting, and financing implementation phases through 2026 with construction anticipated to begin in the last quarter of 2026 or first quarter of 2027.
