Trolley Park Breaks Ground
The Aurora Housing Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony in July for the new Residences at Trolley Park, at 14th & Dallas St. in Aurora.
The 38-unit development will feature three 4-bedroom townhomes facing 14th Ave., and 35 two- and three-bedroom units in an L-shaped building facing Dallas St. The complex will be home to residents earning 40% to 60% of the Area Median Income. The .7 acre site was formerly a parking lot for the police sub-station that was moved to the new Martin Luther King Library. The land was deeded by the City of Aurora to Dallas Street Affordable Housing LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the AHA.
Preston Prince, AHA Executive Director, announced that the AHA has received a grant 
for $228,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank as part of their Affordable Housing Program (AHP). Other key financing partners include: City of Aurora HOME Funds, FirstBank of Aurora permanent mortgage financing, and MMA Financial.
Local, state and national housing industry officials attended the event, which also helped kick off the 2006 Summer Conference of the National
Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
Don Cameron, President of NAHRO,
noted that the Residences 
at Trolley
Park project is a good example of the entrepreneurial trend toward creating partnerships with financial institutions, city agencies and developers to create housing for families of modest income.
Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer applauded the AHA’s efforts in creating the partnership with the City of Aurora and Medici Communities to develop the Residences at Trolley Park. “The important thing to remember is that we are not just creating housing, we are creating homes for families,” Tauer said.
Other special guests included: John Carson, Regional Director of the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD); Cris White, COO, Colorado Housing & Finance Authority; Aurora City Council members Larry Beer, Bob Broom and Brad Pierce; and representatives of Senator Wayne Allard and Congressman Bob Beauprez. Councilmember Deb Wallace and former councilmember Nadine Caldwell were also in attendance.
Odell Architects designed the Trolley Park complex, which will feature balconies on the upper floors, a secured “bike barn,” and a 70-space underground parking garage. Amenities will include a courtyard with playground and bench seating, a large community room,
a computer lab and security entrance gates. The exterior will be clad in brick and stucco.
Each residential unit will have large storage closets and washer/dryer hook-up. Half the units will have built-in desks near the kitchen/living room area, and most will have a breakfast bar for casual dining.
Another AHA project, Florence Square, was also selected as a tour site during the NAHRO Conference held in Denver, July 14-16. NAHRO is the nation’s oldest and largest membership organization of 21,000 housing and community development agencies and professionals. Preston Prince serves as the President of the Mountain Plains NAHRO.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Gundlach Neufeld. 720.251.2075