• Ignacio Colorado

The Housing Catalyst Fund

The La Plata Economic Development Alliance’s Housing Catalyst Fund is a public-private partnership providing seed funding for below-market housing development in La Plata County.

The Housing Catalyst Fund is a unique funding source for La Plata County that supports essential predevelopment costs like feasibility studies, environmental assessments, engineering, and legal fees, helping projects move forward. It was created as part of the Alliance’s Three-Year Housing Investment Strategy to utilize major funding opportunities like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Proposition 123.

Applications Closed

Round 5 of the Housing Catalyst Fund closed applications on May 16th, 2025. Funding decisions will be announced June 30th.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Tober at sarah@yeslpc.com

Catalyst Fund Overview

Watch: Housing Catalyst Fund 101

Recent News

Newsline: Stregthening Durango’s Economy

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Newsline: Third Round of Catalyst Fund Awarded

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Durango Local News Network on Catalyst Fund Round 2

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City’s Seed Investment Pays Off

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Newsline: Catalyst Fund Round 2

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Press Release: Catalyst Fund Round 2

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Selection process

Interested eligible applicants will submit an application with a proposed project and if selected, would receive an award letter, based on their proposed project size, to support project development. Selected projects would also receive up to 10 hours of technical assistance from a regional housing consultant and guidance from local public agencies on land use and development requirements. Applications will be reviewed and ranked using Readiness to Proceed as a primary factor which is a best practice in the housing field and a transparent way to select projects that may receive significant public investment.

The Catalyst Fund Committee approves all funding guidelines, reviews applications to the fund, and approves funding allocations.

Eligibility & Selection Criteria for Funding

Eligible applicants include local non-profit organizations, corporations, private developers, and local public agencies. All recipients of the Catalyst Fund must show evidence that their proposed project will commit at least 25% of the units to below market/affordable housing if pursuing state funding and/or intends to preserve existing below-market housing. If providing units through other resources or programs, the applicant will tell the fund what % it can commit to.

“Below-market” is defined as housing that can be delivered to local community members at the following prices for local community members:

  • Rental housing that delivers new rental units that provide rents affordable to households earning less than 140% AMI
  • For-Sale housing that delivers affordable housing units available to households earning less than 160% AMI.

All affordability calculations will follow the HomesFund’s annual calculations for their loan fund and the current City’s Fair Share program. All rental affordability calculations will follow CHFA guidelines.

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Eligible Uses

Catalyst Fund proceeds may be used for a variety of predevelopment costs, including but not limited to

  • Project feasibility studies
  • Environmental studies
  • Engineering, architectural
  • Market studies
  • Options
  • Legal fees
  • Soil studies
  • Site preparation
  • Appraisals
  • Surveys
  • Development consultants
  • Other items associated with determining project feasibility

Amounts and Terms

The Catalyst Fund awards will be in the form of a grant ranging from $25,000-$75,000. If awarded, grant agreements will require that applicants provide quarterly progress reports and report on the following:

  • Predevelopment activities completed
  • Results of feasibility studies
  • Changes on project concept
  • Updates to development timeline and approach
  • Final report on project feasibility and final unit count and anticipated costs of the project. If not feasible, lessons learned on factors limiting success of the actual development project for use by the Catalyst Fund Committee

This committee is comprised of the following individuals:

Kent Curtis, CEO, First Southwest Bank
Mike French, Prosperity Officer, City of Durango
Mark Garcia, Town Manager, Town of Ignacio
Chris Lopez, Community Relationship Manager, CHFA

Laura Lewis Marchino, Executive Director, Region 9
Adam Rogers, Director of Finance, La Plata County
Steve Short, Board of Trustees Member, Fort Lewis College
Pat Vaughn, Commercial Real Estate Consultant, Stultus LLC