An apartment complex serving middle income renters might be coming to a previously blighted intersection near North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs, marking what developers say is the first new housing options for the area in years.

The Odyssey at North Weber would turn an unused parking lot into a 120-unit housing development with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. It would be aimed toward renters making about 80% to 120% of the area median household income. According to HUD, El Paso County as a whole has a median household income of $112,500.

“The residents living in these apartments are considered workforce housing,” said Crystal LaTier, Executive Director of Economic Development at El Paso County.

The apartments, starting at an average monthly rent of $1,677 up to $2,258 on the 4000 block of North Weber, would cater to an underserved demographic for housing in an otherwise saturated Colorado Springs market, according to developer Drew Gaiser with Blue Truck Capital.

“We’re targeting towards the ‘missing middle,'” he said.

Blue Truck Capital is a Colorado company responsible for other projects such as condos in Ivy Wild, downtown apartments, and single-family houses and condos in Old Colorado City and on Platte Avenue. According to its website, the Colorado company specializes in “value-add real estate acquisitions and infill development.”

The project is also connected with The Renegade Group, another Colorado-based real estate development company, and Narrate Cos., a group that previous submitted an as-yet-unrealized plan for a seven-story mixed-use apartment building downtown.

On Tuesday, the Odyssey at North Weber Urban Renewal Plan received its requested tax agreement with El Paso County. That is a financing mechanism that will help pay for infrastructure improvements through estimated increases in property tax revenue over a 25-year period.

The Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority is backing the project as part of its wider master plan for the revitalization of the North Nevada Avenue area. Jariah Walker, executive director of the authority, said that the type of housing proposed at Odyssey is “extremely challenging” to get built.

Gaiser said that the project would serve an area of the city without much recent development activity.

“This is going to be some of the first new housing brought in the immediate area in close to fifty years,” he said.

The full cost of the development is $37 million. Gaiser said that developers were in the process of applying for a loan through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

With a property tax agreement secured with the county, developers will seek similar agreements with the other relevant taxing authorities, such as the city of Colorado Springs.

The agreement with the county is estimated to generate about $480,000 over 25 years to go toward improvements, given the county’s current property tax mill levy. The developers plan to close off Cragmor Drive as a cul de sac, among other infrastructure improvements.

While she felt Odyssey was a “very good project,” board of commissioners chair Carrie Geitner said she would prefer to see more condos for sale rather than apartments for rent built in the area.

“We do know that the way for people to build wealth, and, you know, reach that American dream is to be able to purchase a home,” she said.

Gaiser said his company was hoping to break ground on the project with a chosen construction company by the first quarter of 2026.