Greeley leaders break ground on apartment complex to house chronically homeless

GREELEY — Dennis Hoshiko’s grandparents were homeless when they immigrated to America from Japan in 1908. They worked hard and created a lasting future legacy at a small property in north Greeley, where they processed vegetables they grew in the fields outside of town.

On Thursday, June 20, he rededicated his family legacy to helping the chronically homeless by breaking ground on what will be a 58-unit apartment complex next to Hoshiko Park at 123 Ninth Ave.

“Today, it’s fitting (that) our heritage has led to converting into permanent housing for those who don’t have any,” Hoshiko told a crowd of about 60 people who gathered to celebrate a project that had been years in the making. “Now, it’s time for this place to be used for the benefit of our neighbors who can’t afford a home. This morning, we dedicate North Weld Village and StarRise Apartments to him and proclaim glory to God in the highest.”

The planned $27 million StarRise Apartments at 123 Ninth Ave. on the site of the former North Weld Produce Co. property that Hoshiko’s grandparents built will not only house the chronically homeless in one-bedroom units, but it also will provide services to the residents from North Range Behavioral Health, Volunteers of America and more.

“Support for this housing project didn’t happen by accident,” said Zac Schaffner, a homeless-programs specialist with the Colorado Division of Housing. “It takes tremendous partnerships to get off the ground to get to today. … It was not a hard thing to do to say ‘yes’ to this project.”

Jodi Hartmann, executive director of High Plains Housing Development, said not only is the project desperately needed for the 58 who will call the apartments home, but it also will help up to 200 people through the years. Still, she said, the community needs a good 350 to 400 more units for the homeless.

“Treating homelessness is not the same as ending it,” Hartmann said. “The only permanent solution is permanent, stable housing.”

Future phases of North Weld Village include a 90-unit multifamily property targeting very low-income households at 30% or less of area median income. Additionally, phases 3 and 4 are hoped to deliver further housing options and employment opportunities.

Hoshiko donated the 6.5-acre industrial property.

The project came together as a result of several players getting involved, Hartmann said.

“We have been told by numerous state and affordable-housing officials that they have never seen the level of support for one of these projects that they have seen with the StarRise development,” she said.

Those players include: The Greeley-Weld Housing Authority; The Weld Trust; Colorado Housing and Finance Authority; the city of Greeley; Greeley Urban Renewal Authority; Greeley Planning, Housing and Homeless Solutions Department; United Way of Weld County; Colorado Health Foundation; the Betty Tointon Fund; El Pomar Foundation; and The RL Monfort Family Endowment.