- Project Type: Multi Family, Affordable Community
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
The Ponderosa Mobile Home Park is located in North Boulder on 6.29 acres. It originally contained 68 mobile homes that survived the 2013 flood. The City of Boulder purchased the Ponderosa property in 2017 and initiated the Ponderosa Community Stabilization Program to engage with Ponderosa residents to annex the county enclave in order to improve Ponderosa’s infrastructure, provide flood protection, introduce a variety of affordable housing options to the residents, and ensure that individual and community needs are met.
In the future, Ponderosa will include 74 single-family, duplex, and triplex units on fixed foundations, replacing the existing mobile homes one at a time, when the homeowners opt in to the Habitat home ownership program. The plan is intended to maintain permanent affordability in the park’s community for existing and new residents with a goal of zero displacement. The project proposes the phased construction of homes, with utility and transportation infrastructure improvements coming first, using federal flood recovery funds.
Even though the total number of units will be increased, due to the new configuration and creation of pocket neighborhoods, additional community amenities are proposed such as a 2,000-square-foot community building, community gardens, unit storage, and more extensive private and public spaces, including green courts and pocket parks.
Ponderosa is an example of how to apply cohousing principles to an existing affordable and diverse community. With an eye to community and sustainability, the City of Boulder decided to tackle energy consumption, reconstruction options, innovative financing, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, shared amenities, community engagement, and capacity building – all at the same time.
Through the deep engagement process we used with the community, two defining characteristics emerged: rugged individualism and incredible mutual support. The result is real affordability and vibrant resilience. Community members have been able to direct their community’s future.
Ponderosa is located less than one mile from Caddis’s office, and we were so inspired by the energy from the residents that we decided to volunteer as a firm to help build the Habitat for Humanity units. Read about our experiences on our blog.
