Affordable housing rehabilitations, while vital to the communities they serve, are seldom dramatic. But our most recent acquisition, CPP’s first project in Colorado, carried with it a rare sense of urgency that ended with 154 families being saved from losing their homes – just in the nick of time.

Built in 1972 as a multifamily apartment complex in Pueblo, Colo., Casa Del Sol entered into a “mod rehab” contract in 1982 to ensure annual improvements and continued affordability. But, the property was never maintained – most units still have Nixon-era appliances – and this summer the owner notified the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that it would be allowing the contract to expire. Consequently, the government subsidies would run out and there no longer would be financial assistance to offset rents for the low-income tenants.

Enter CPP. An affordable housing rehabilitation specialist known for its connections to capital and ability to close quickly, CPP was interested in buying the complex, but it had less time to act than even its fastest dealmakers are used to – days, not months. Residents were on the brink of being priced out of their homes.

To protect both the property and the community, CPP worked with the owner, using a temporary contract renewal to buy enough time to draw up a new long-term contract and secure $22.6 million. With remarkable speed, CPP was able to convert the existing mod rehab contract into a 20-year project base rental assistance contract, using both a housing assistance payments contract and additional tax credits to secure financing.

In the end, Casa Del Sol was narrowly saved from a complete economic collapse. The skyrocketing rents that often follow the loss of affordability give many residents little choice but to leave their homes – sometimes for the streets. Now, the property is undergoing a $22.6 million rehabilitation with a suite of planned improvements that will see it flourish like never before.