Ground-Up Construction in Pueblo

Almost all of it is inside city limits. The City of Pueblo accounted for 98% of all new home sales since the start of 2024, concentrated in the northern part of the city along Highways 50 and 47 and I-25. The named pipeline project is Residences at Villa Bella, east of the CSU Pueblo campus near Highway 47: 200 to 300 homes a year in phase one, up to 3,500 homes at buildout, with three- and four-bedroom houses starting at $371,950, well above the metro's mid-tier resale value.

We do not have a published fee schedule or a plan-review-time commitment for the City of Pueblo, so confirm both before you set a draw schedule. What is sourced is the volume trend, and it is a headwind, not a tailwind: sales-unit permits fell from a peak of 740 in 2021 to 270 in 2024, an average 29% annual decline, with about 250 permitted in the 12 months ending March 2025. Rental permitting is the opposite story, jumping from under 10 units total across 2020 through 2023 to about 390 units in the 12 months ending March 2025, the first meaningful multifamily construction here in half a decade, concentrated along Highway 45 in the northwest part of the city.

Yes, and it is worth checking the parcel before you underwrite. Pueblo West is not an incorporated town; it is governed by the Pueblo West Metropolitan District under Colorado's Title 32 special-district statute, which supplies water and runs parks and recreation across the entire community and levies 20.230 mills, a rate the district says it has not raised in more than thirty years. Inside Pueblo city limits the parcel carries a 15.633 mill municipal levy instead. A lot in unincorporated Pueblo County outside Pueblo West carries neither. Confirm the service provider and the levy for your specific lot before you set a budget; we did not source a utility service-territory map for the metro.

Underwrite the absorption, not just the entitlement, because the demographic tailwind is thin. Pueblo's population grew an average of just 370 people, or 0.2%, a year from April 2020 to April 2025, down from 0.6% a year in the prior three-year stretch, and net natural change has been negative every year since 2017, meaning the metro grows only through in-migration. That is the honest caveat on any Pueblo ground-up deal: the entitled dirt and the builder pipeline are real, but the buyer pool behind them is not growing fast.

Roughly $160,000 between the average new build and the average resale. The average new home sold for $442,500 against $281,100 for an existing home in the 12 months ending February 2025. Villa Bella's new houses start at $371,950, well above the metro's July 2026 mid-tier resale value of $287,718. A builder selling into that price band is not competing with the resale market on price.

At least 15% of total cost, and often more once the lot is priced in. We fund up to 70% LTV and up to 85% of cost, with draws released against the build schedule on a 12 to 24 month term. On a $500,000 total cost that is up to $425,000 from us and $75,000 from you (500,000 x 85% = 425,000), and the LTV test can bind first on a smaller lot. Leave a marketing period in the term: rental permitting only recently turned back up here, so absorption is still finding its footing. Subject to underwriting.

We fund new construction up to 70% of value and up to 85% of total cost (land plus build), in most states, on loans up to $5M. Experienced builders reach the higher end of leverage. We finance both the lot and the vertical construction within those caps.

Yes. Lot acquisition is funded as part of your loan-to-cost. If you already own the lot, that equity can serve as your down payment, which often lets us fund most or all of the build cost.

Construction funds are released in draws as milestones are completed and verified, not handed over at closing. You submit your budget and scope of work up front, complete a phase, request a draw, and we release that portion after inspection. You pay interest on funds as they are drawn.

Our construction pricing starts around 10%, interest-only, on terms of 12 to 24 months. Market ground-up rates generally run 9% to 12% with 1 to 3 points. Your pricing and leverage depend on your build experience and the strength of the project.

We consider builders at all levels, though a track record helps your leverage and rate. A first-time builder should expect to bring a strong general contractor, a detailed budget, and typically a larger equity contribution. A well-documented project goes a long way.

The lot cost or current value, your construction budget and scope of work, the projected after-built value, and your build experience. With those we can size the loan against both cost and completed value and send you terms.