Boulder homeless housing on tap

Ground will be broken on Wednesday on this energy-efficient homeless housing development in Boulder.

Boulder Housing Partners  will break ground on Boulder’s first permanent supportive housing development for the chronically homeless at noon on Wednesday.The 31-unit apartment community will provide permanent homes and supportive services for homeless individuals to help them achieve long-term stability and self-reliance.

The $7.6 million development, which follows the national Housing Firstmodel, will increase the number of permanent housing units available to Boulder residents who have suffered from chronic homelessness, a critical component of Boulder’s 10 year plan to end homelessness.

“The recent flood event reminds us all about the significance of a stable home, and how fragile the line can be between being housed and being homeless,” said Betsey Martens, executive director of BHP. “We are excited to have arrived at this day when it’s time to put a shovel in the ground and begin to create a permanent and safe home for people who’ve not had one for a very long time. We are grateful to the community for an engaged and vigorous dialog that resulted in support for 1175 Lee Hill.”

The development will be  at 1175 Lee Hill Drive in North Boulder, at the intersection of Lee Hill Drive and Broadway. The two-story, multifamily apartment building will offer 31 one-bedroom, fully-furnished units. Residents will also have access to a variety of indoor and outdoor community spaces, laundry facilities and a community room for classes and social events. The general contractor is Denueve Construction and it is being designed by Humphries Poli Architects.

Each resident will be assigned a case manager whose role is to assist them in obtaining available community services such as federal income benefits, medical care, counseling, and job training.  BHP will contract with the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless to provide on-site case managers for the residents of 1175 Lee Hill.

BHP is a national leader in sustainable affordable housing development.  Accordingly, 1175 Lee Hill is designed to be 30 percent more energy efficient than city code. A 56 kW solar array will be installed on the roof, offsetting 100 percent of the common area electricity demand.  It will integrate a variety of energy efficiency and sustainable features which will contribute to a low-maintenance, comfortable and healthy living environment.

Prospective tenants are eligible to apply if they are an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.

Financing sources for the development include:

• Boulder County;
• Colorado Division of Housing;
• City of Boulder;
• Fannie Mae;
• And the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

Interested parties can register for project updates and join an interest list at: http://www.boulderhousing.org/LeeHill