Greeley City Council approves plan for one of the largest affordable housing communities in the area
Hope Springs, which calls for more than 300 affordable housing units, is a 43-acre development near the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club off 23rd Avenue. Photo courtesy of the City of Greeley.
By Kelly Ragan
Greeley is making moves on affordable housing. This week, Greeley City Council approved plans for one of the largest affordable housing communities in the area.
The project, called Hope Springs, is spearheaded by Greeley’s Habitat for Humanity, and plans call for more than 300 high-quality but affordable apartments, 174 single-family homes, a park, a childcare center within walking distance to schools, grocery stores and mass transit.
The 43-acre development is around the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club off 23rd Avenue.
Habitat for Humanity is partnering with Richmark Cos., a local developer, to get the job done.
“We have to be intentional about making housing available for all residents in Greeley if we don’t want to end up in the situations we see in California and Boulder,” said Cheri Witt-Brown, director of Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity at the council meeting.
You probably know Habitat as the organization that calls on volunteers to build homes for those with lower incomes who would otherwise not be able to afford one. The homeowners themselves put in hundreds of hours of so-called sweat equity and pay a mortgage on the house, but they are also allowed to sell it after a time, which builds wealth.
But the program wasn’t designed to solve an affordable housing crisis, as the model doesn’t allow Habitat to build more than a few homes a year.
Until now. Habitat is getting into the developing game.
“I believe in that model so strongly,” said Witt-Brown in a previous interview with the Optimist. “I’ve been here six years and we’ve had one foreclosure in 36 years. But we are taking this affordable housing problem very seriously. Really, Hope Springs was everyone coming to the table and saying what kind of community we need to develop. By partnering with private sector builders, we are bringing a scale to this that we couldn’t do on our own.
“We didn’t want to just build five homes a year. I knew we weren’t even going to scratch the surface. We were seeing families in unsafe conditions, and we needed to get them out. We can help more of those people immediately.”
At the council meeting, Witt-Brown said she prefers to call this kind of housing affordable or attainable rather than low-income.
“Nothing about these will look low-income,” Witt-Brown said.
Witt-Brown said she anticipates the project will reinvest more than $76 million into Greeley’s economy in the next seven years.
Before council’s vote on Tuesday, the 43.42 acres had been designated residential and commercial. The zoning had been in place since 1987 and remained undeveloped.
Greeley has three other affordable housing projects in the pipeline. Combined, the projects are set to add about 850 new units.
Immaculate Plaza, set to have 54 units, is expected to break ground in the next couple of weeks around 10th Avenue and 6th Street, near WeldWerks.
Copper Platte, set to have 224 units, is under construction at the east end of the Greeley Mall.
The other project is still in the early planning stages.123 9th Avenue, owned by High Plains Housing Development Corporation, is set to bring 150 affordable housing units to the city. This project is located just north of Immaculate Plaza.
Approval of the Hope Springs rezone and Planned Unit Development comes on the heels of much discussion around affordable housing in Greeley.
The city is considering expanding its Greeley Home Ownership Program in light of rising home prices. The program was established in 2015 and offers down payment assistance to folks who work for major employers, such as JBS, Greeley-Evans School District 6, North Colorado Medical Center, the University of Northern Colorado and more.
City staff are also working with a Housing Advisory Council to conduct housing needs assessments.