In Colorado’s Vail Valley, where affordable housing is increasingly difficult to find, preserving existing homes can be just as important as building new ones. For 120 families at Eagle Villas, a major rehabilitation effort has ensured they can remain in their community for decades to come.
The development has been a vital source of housing for ski operators, hospitality workers, and others that keep the community running.
As much of the area’s housing stock has shifted to become short-term rentals, Eagle Villas was also in danger of converting to market-rate housing, displacing its residents.
In 2024, Ulysses Development Group (UDG) acquired the 30-year-old development—the largest affordable community in Eagle and nearly half of the county’s low-income housing tax credit stock—as its affordability restrictions were set to expire. UDG has since completed an extensive rehabilitation and extended affordability for residents earning between 45% and 80% of the area median income for 60 years.
Eagle Villas has been named the winner in the preservation category of this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
The apartments, including three- and four-bedroom units for larger families, were fully renovated, major building systems were installed, and common areas were upgraded.
To finance the $69 million effort, the team used a bridge-to-resyndication structure, a model that has rarely been executed in the state in recent years, according to the developers. UDG advanced $2 million of its own capital to bridge the acquisition—assuming the upfront risk—while simultaneously bringing Eagle County and the state in as financial partners. This approach allowed the team to secure the property quickly, then pivot to a complex resyndication strategy to fund the rehabilitation.
The team assembled $33.5 million in private-activity bond volume cap, despite Eagle County having access to only about $7 million across two full years of allocation. Through an unprecedented regional effort, UDG and the Eagle County Housing and Development Authority secured bond authority from multiple counties and the statewide balance, coordinating approvals across jurisdictions and working closely with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to execute the structure.
“The project exemplifies the power of partnership across local jurisdictions and the state to help solve the affordable housing crisis that’s particularly acute in smaller, rural mountain communities,” says Blaise Rastello, vice president and Colorado market leader at UDG. “We all had an alignment of vision to preserve this housing and improve the lives of families that have been there for decades.”
With few affordable housing options nearby, many residents have spent years building their lives at Eagle Villas. The recent effort means these families will be able to maintain their social connections and live close to work. It also established a model for other community-driven development.
DEVELOPER: Ulysses Development Group
ARCHITECT: Ebersoldt + Associates Architecture
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Legacy Construction Services
MAJOR FUNDERS: National Equity Fund; J.P. Morgan; Eagle County Housing and Development Authority; Colorado Department of Local Affairs; Colorado Housing and Finance Authority