Church, Habitat, city collaborate on Grace Gardens

After four years of planning, dealing and praying, Loveland Habitat for Humanity broke ground on an innovative and ambitious housing community built as a partnership of Habitat, the Loveland Housing Authority and private donors.

And other municipalities are taking note. 

Tired at the end of another day, Cindi Hammond, executive director of the Loveland Habitat for Humanity, tells about the journey trying to erect a new community of more than 47 homes and 120 apartments. This new community will go a long way to ease the waiting list of approximately 2,500 people in the county needing housing. Although final numbers for the project are yet to be calculated, estimates so far have hovered around $5 million.

Hammond explained that Habitat also provides home buyers with classes to educate about home ownership as well as making sure appropriate homeowners supply adequate “sweat equity” for their home construction.

“We take care of the affordable home sales,” Hammond said. “The Loveland Housing Authority will take care of the affordable rentals.”

Almost from the inception, this project was a collaboration between the Loveland Habitat for Humanity, Loveland Housing Authority and Grace Community Church. 

“As a matter of fact, it was initially the idea of the church, which donated some of the land,” Hammond said.

Grace Community Church Pastor Gary Glover said the church had originally wanted to build a new church, but the congregation saw a bigger need for housing on that land.

“God had other plans,” said Glover.

That was four years ago, and Grace Community decided it wanted to build houses for those needing affordable housing and sought out Habitat for Humanity. Together they came up with a plan for the church to give five of 14 acres to build the Habitat community.

 The housing authority, hearing of the plan, went to both Habitat for Humanity and Grace Community with a plan for a campus for two buildings to be used to house the underserved on the remaining nine acres. The church saw the need and sold the land to the Housing Authority for what Hammond describes as “far below market rates.”

However, Hammond is quick to note the Housing Authority’s participation was essential to complete this project.

“We are, relatively speaking, a small Habitat,” Hammond said.

“If it wasn’t for the Loveland Housing Authority, we couldn’t have pulled off such a heavy lift.”

Last month, Loveland Habitat finally broke ground on the new community. Loveland Mayor Jacki Marsh reiterated the need for community help for housing.

“We have 25,000 people on the housing waiting list. We need good, desirable housing in Loveland. It’s a good partnership.”

Colorado Sen. Rob Woodward (R-Loveland), who was named recently to the affordable housing transformational committee, also sees this project as a promising new way for collaboration between the public and private sectors.

“I have a keen interest in housing. I mean I’m looking at the entire state, but this is in my own backyard.”

He continued, “Grace Gardens at Derby Hill represents a perfect recipe of churches like Grace Community leading the way donating land, designers and builders doing their work at lower costs and local city staff reducing red tape.”

Among the other dignitaries and invited guests at the groundbreaking was Kate Wright, executive director of Laramie County (Wyoming) Habitat for Humanity. Wright is looking to create a similar project in Cheyenne and has been eyeing Grace Gardens with curious eyes.

“We are actually on a task force created by the mayor [of Cheyenne Patrick Collins] to try to solve our housing issues,” Wright said.

She added, “We have a piece of raw land that has been gifted to us, so I would love to possibly duplicate what they have done down here.”

Loveland Habitat for Humanity was willing to help. “They came up and did a presentation on how it all came about and how the collaborations were set up,” Wright said.

Although only in the planning stages, the city of Greeley is also looking to build a community of affordable housing and rentals on the north end of the city at a projected cost of more than $12 million. According to reports, Greeley is also looking for a collaboration between Habitat for Humanity, Weld County and private businesses. This project, though still in early planning stages, recently received zoning approval from the Greeley Planning Commission. It must now be approved by the Greeley City Council.

All three projects are involved in a new style of collaboration and partnership between non-profit organizations, private businesses and city and county entities to come up with innovative solutions for housing challenges communities may face. 

According to Tony Burke, president of Pinkard Construction Co. of Lakewood, which is involved in the development of Grace Gardens, a fat bottom line is not the only goal of a contractor.

“We’ve been involved with Loveland Housing Authority for years and years, so they brought us along,” said Burke. 

He added, “we are out there in the community, and we’re committed so building affordable housing is just something we do now.”

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