Avon Town Council Approves Summit Apartments for $10 Million

The obvious take on the Avon Town Council’s 5-1 vote is that it’s a victory for housing advocates. They got their units. They got the parking guarantees. They got the commercial space handed over to the town. But if you look at the timeline and the money, the real story isn’t just that the building is going up — it’s that it finally happened when it did, and exactly what the town paid to make it happen.

The Summit Apartments, a 164-unit development on that stubborn 1.7-acre lot adjacent to Avon Center, is set to break ground by the end of the summer. The developer, Denver-based Grand Peaks Properties, has until September 15 to secure a building permit. Financing closes later this fall. The clock is ticking. If the project isn’t completed by December 31, 2029, the developer pays a penalty.

For decades, this lot sat empty. It’s been the town’s blind spot since Avon Center was built in 1980. Two hotel groups walked away. A local developer tried luxury and failed. Another apartment builder spent a year and quit. It was, as broker Steve Sendor put it, "about as complicated as it gets."

Sendor, who has been working on this deal for seven years, sees Tuesday’s approval as the green light that finally clears the debris. But he’s quick to note that getting the vote isn’t the same as pouring concrete. There’s still a lot of work to be done before that September 15 deadline.

The question locals are asking isn’t whether the building will rise. It’s whether the town got a good deal on the affordable housing component. The revised agreement shifts the focus. Instead of higher income thresholds, the town secured 16 additional community housing units capped at 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI). That’s a significant pivot from earlier debates.

Mayor Tamra Nottingham Underwood didn’t mince words about the shift. “I’m absolutely thrilled seeing the re-prioritization of the 16 units at 100% AMI,” she said. “That significantly helps affordable housing, to have nice apartments for 100% AMI households in the core of Avon is just going...”

The sentence trails off in the record, but the implication is clear: this isn’t just about putting bodies in beds. It’s about integrating lower-income renters into the heart of the pedestrian mall district, right next to Bob’s Place and the town’s main commercial hub.

The town’s financial participation in this project totals $10 million. That figure covers the additional deed-restricted units and the roughly 4,000 square feet of commercial and community space that will eventually be conveyed to Avon. It’s a steep price for 16 units of affordable housing, but it’s the price of unlocking the rest of the 164-unit complex.

One detail that matters to the tenants, not just the officials, is the parking. The agreement guarantees that deed-restricted tenants get one parking space at no additional cost. Rent calculations must now include utilities — electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash. No hidden fees. No surprise charges for the trash bin.

This is a primarily residential rental building, with units ranging from one to three bedrooms. It’s not luxury. It’s not a hotel. It’s housing. And after seven years of stalled negotiations and competing developers walking away, it’s finally moving.

Sendor notes that the approval assures the project can move forward this year, but the devil is in the details of the development agreement. The town has secured its parking enforcement measures and its financing terms. Now, Grand Peaks Properties has to deliver.

The lot has been empty since 1980. It’s time it wasn’t.