- Project Type: Multi Family, Affordable
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
Boulder Housing Partners (BHP) brought Caddis Collaborative on board to design a complete refresh of six of its seven Project Renovate sites. Project Renovate was an ambitious renovation plan of six BHP properties to create affordable housing for Boulder’s families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. The projects received HUD approval and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) funding. Originally built in the 1970s as multifamily, affordable housing developments, the sites were remodeled with updated interiors and exteriors to bring the communities up to today’s market standards.
The six sites house 279 of Boulder’s most economically vulnerable families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. The revitalization created three new community centers, renovated full exteriors and interiors of all apartments, provided for full landscape and utility upgrades, and added many energy-efficiency and unit amenities such as washers/ dryers and ceiling fans. A robust community engagement effort informed all of our design decisions along the way.
Most of the communities feature townhouses; two of them are apartment complexes intended primarily for seniors and disabled adults. The design of the sites was handled concurrently, representing a major push for both Caddis and BHP.
The upgrades to the units strongly enhanced residents’ quality of life. The interior remodels added “powder rooms” (half baths), air conditioning, and modern conveniences such as dishwashers, washers, and dryers. The exteriors were redesigned to add storage, patios and decks as well as to create increased privacy through screening between units. New siding, windows, roofing, and vibrant colors enhanced the curb appeal.
The senior housing sites have improved accessibility and community rooms for resident programming. Similarly, the multifamily sites also now include community centers. At the multifamily sites, Boulder Housing Partners works with the “I Have a Dream” Foundation to run after-school programs, and Bringing School Home offers services as well. The community center at a site such as Diagonal Court embodies the same high community energy as seen in cohousing communities.
One project was Northport, senior affordable housing that offers accessibility (including an elevator), common community space on the ground level and throughout the building, and a beautiful rose garden. The building provides updated studio and one-bedroom apartments for older adults aged 62+ or people with disabilities. Residents at Northport are within walking distance of the Pearl Street Mall, restaurants, and shopping and are located just one block from the Skip bus stop on Broadway. Resident Services staff are available to connect residents to local resources and programming. Apartments are offered at rents below market rate and come with rental assistance as part of BHP’s Deeply Affordable Communities program.
The other five project sites are Diagonal Court, Kalmia, Madison, Manhattan, and Walnut Place.
In 2017, Project Renovate won the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Mountain Plains: Rehab Award, the NAHRO Award of Excellence, and the NAHRO Agency Award of Merit.
