Program areas at GAHFH
In 2022, gahfh began development of hope springs, a large-scale affordable housing mix-product community with the city of Greeley and gahfh private- sector partners, richmark. Hope springs will provide 491 units of affordable and mixed-rate housing to the city. Hope springs is an innovative, climate-friendly partnership community, whose model has attracted national attention. Hope springs is a collaboration of private sector, nonprofit, federal, state, and local governments delivering a 40- acre, 491-unit, mixed-product, affordable community with amenities, including an onsite childcare center. This project received unanimous approval from the Greeley city council in july and august of 2022. Infrastructure for the development will begin in late spring 2023. Multiple major donors are investing in the hope springs development. Richmark companies is donating the land and water for the gahfh development, valued at 8,820 million. Other crucially important investments are being pledged by u.s. Senator hickenlooper, who has awarded 2.577 million to the hope springs project through his congressional district spending budget. Jbs is investing 2 million and the city of Greeley and gahfh were awarded a highly competitive 990,000 dola catalyst grant. A number of other private community investors are helping to make hope springs an attainable community development model that can be replicated across the nation. Gahfh will reinvest 68,000,000 in new infrastructure and construction dollars upon build out. In the spring of 2023, gahfh, in partnership with Weld county, will be building a senior center in hill n' park, a first step in the revitalization of a blighted and underserved community. Gahfh was awarded a 1 million cdbg-dr grant from the state in 2019. This grant funded an innovative development and partnership that will serve a community that was severely underserved after losing over 200 affordable homes in the 2013 flood. With the awarded disaster relief funds, gahfh partnered with for-profit affordable housing developer commonwealth, the 7th largest affordable housing developer in the nation and long-term operator of multi-density affordable rental projects, to create the mission springs development. Mission springs is a combination of 27 single family and paired homes built by gahfh to provide homeownership opportunities for Habitat families, mission homestead, and 68 affordable town homes and cottage rentals built by commonwealth, mission village. This development will replace nearly half of the units that evans, Colorado lost suring the severe floods of 2013. Gahfh completed the first 8 homes in mission homestead in 2021, including the affiliates first duplexes, ada compliant units and the first natural gas and renewalble energy zero net energy home, with a hers score of -6 in partnership with atmos energy and the schlessman family foundation. In 2022, costruction on 10 more homes began and or was completed. All homes in this development have been built in partnership with our jefferson high school construction pathway students in year 6 of the innovative workforce development program. In 2020, gahfh was able to complete construction on crestview, a fourteen home development in Greeley. All of the homes in crestview were also built in partnership with our jefferson high school construction pathway program, allowing at-risk youth the opportunity to learn high in demand trade skills on an active job site while earning up to 27 college credits. Upon the completion of crestview, gahfh began construction on northview, a development that will bring 12 units of affordable housing to the Greeley Area. The first 2 homes were completed in 2021. An additional 6 units began and or were complete in 2022.
The family services program is comprised of programs and practices designed to provide applicants and approved homeowners with the skills and support they need to prosper as long-term homeowners. Support services are multifaceted and begin with a consultation with the gahfh family services associate. Approved applicants are paired with a family support committee volunteer who work alongside the partner family throughout the homebuilding and closing processes. Said volunteers work with the partner family to complete a series of six written lessons including: ownership vs. Rental occupancy, financial planning, protection of the investment value of the home, homeowner's insurance, equity building and income tax responsibility, and "your mortgage." In addition to the lessons completed with the family support volunteer, approved applicants are required to complete a series of group workshops prior to closing on their home. Group workshops include: landscaping, city codes, covenants, homeowner's insurance (workshop), and hoa. In 2021, gahfh hired a family services specialist, a hud certified housing couselor, allowing us to accept applications year-round. In gahfh's 35-year history, there has only been one foreclosure, a testament to gahfh successfully preparing its partners for homeownership.
The gahfh restore is continuing to grow and is not far from its goal of becoming a 1,000,000 store. In 2022, the restore moved to a new location at the Greeley mall, adding an additional 10,000 sq. Ft. and consolidating our administrative offices, moving them to the new location. The restore is a unique retail outfit that obtains donated home construction/renovation material donations; donations are then sold to general public. Profit from the restore provides general operating support to the overall organization. The restore provides valuable services for donors and patrons alike. for donors, in-kind contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and patrons receive qualitymerchandise at an affordable price. Likewise, the restore operation provides a valuable service for the overall community and the environment by effectively reducing landfill waste by through the encouragement of reuse and repurpose, and also through the restore cardboard/metal/electronic recycling program. Annualy, the restore saves approximately 1,000,000 pounds of waste from reaching the local landfill