A partnership between Nor’wood Development Group and the Springs Rescue Mission is bringing permanent supportive housing to Colorado Springs.
The partnership will build Greenway Flats, a 65-unit apartment property will not only provide housing to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness but also wraparound supportive services for residents.
Greenway Flats is slated to break ground in 2017 and open in 2018 at the Springs Rescue Mission campus at 31 W. Las Vegas St., south of downtown.
The $14 million project was funded from a variety of sources, including 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, El Paso County Housing Trust Fund and city of Colorado Springs HOME funds.
“The new facility gives our most at-risk and vulnerable neighbors a place to call home,” Larry Yonker, president and CEO of Springs Rescue Mission said in a release regarding the project. “By meeting these individuals’ basic need of housing, we’re free to do what we do best: provide services and resources for those experiencing homelessness and help them on a track to full recovery in mind, body and soul.”
“We at Nor’wood are dedicated to do all that we can to help improve our city and help Colorado Springs achieve our collective goals, including bringing our professional experience forward as partners in active philanthropy to provide safe and affordable housing for those in our community hurting the most,” said Chris Jenkins, president of Nor’wood Development Group. “Our partnership with the city of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, the state of Colorado and Springs Rescue Mission is proof that we are better together.”
Greenway Flats was developed through the Pathways Home Colorado Supportive Housing Toolkit, a program created by the state of Colorado and CHFA in partnership with LeBeau Development, the city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County. The architect is HB&A Architects in Colorado Springs.
“Addressing homelessness is a high priority of CHFA,” added Cris White, CHFA executive director and CEO. “Greenway Flats is a critical development for the Colorado Springs community and will make a lasting impact on those it serves.”
“It heartens me greatly to see our community and CHFA taking clear action in support of our community’s urgent need for augmented homeless services and affordable housing,” Mayor John Suthers said in the announcement regarding the project. “This partnership represents a tangible step forward in our efforts to address the issue of chronic homelessness. We are grateful to CHFA and the state of Colorado for heeding our call to action here in our community.”
“Greenway Flats brings the Housing First model to our city center, ensuring that those most in need are provided a home not just for a night but long-term, putting them on a surer path toward a more stable future,” added Susan Edmondson, CEO of the Downtown Partnership.
The Springs Rescue Mission also is undergoing a phased campus expansion to increase overnight shelter operations to serve up to 180 people nightly by November.
