St. Vrain Habitat for Humanity receives $3.5 million grant
Mar. 24—Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley is receiving a $3.5 million grant for its work in Longmont, Dacono, and Estes Park as part of a larger $436 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to the Habitat for Humanity organization.
"This gift is just a really huge blessing to us," said John Lovell, St. Vrain Habitat's development director. "We anticipate significantly increasing the number of homes."
He said the gift comes at a time when home ownership is increasingly out of reach for working class families. Habitat leaders shared that, according to the Longmont Housing Affordability Review, there are no entry level housing options in Longmont.
Fifty-eight percent of renters in Boulder County spend more than 30% of their income on monthly rent, higher than the national average, according to the review. Longmont has estimated a shortage of 2,900 affordable housing units based on the goals outlined in its regional plan. To date, only 6% of affordable homes are for sale.
"This gift is an acknowledgment of the critical need for affordable homeownership in this community, the great work our supporters have done within the Habitat model locally, and the strong evidence that home ownership is transformational, not only to the individual homeowner but also the community in which they reside," David Emerson, St. Vrain Habitat executive director, said in a written statement.
Families participating in the program are selected based on need, the ability to repay an affordable mortgage, willingness to work with family services, invest 250 to 500 hours of sweat equity to build their home, complete formal financial budgeting and counseling and save a required down payment.
Of the 115 homes the organization has built, 83% still have the original homeowners living there.
"We're very intent on our families being successful," Lovell said. "Folks that could never imagine having a home have these opportunities with us."
Lovell said Habitat sells the home to the participant at cost, with a zero percent interest rate mortgage and the length to pay it off set based on income. Habitat then reinvests the mortgage payments in more homes.
"It's a very sustainable kind of model," he said.
He said Habitat plans to build 10 homes in the St. Vrain Valley and Estes Park area in the coming year, then hopes to ramp up the number of new homes in future years with the the grant money. Habitat previously averaged six to eight new homes a year.
This year's project includes eight permanently affordable homes, built as four duplexes, on the west side of Longmont in the Mountain Brook development. Habitat also is building a new house with a family in Dacono whose home burned in a fire.
While the organization is still determining how to allocate the grant money, Lovell said, areas where it will be used include acquiring land and building infrastructure on Habitat's existing properties to prepare them for homes. The money also will be used to ramp up the home construction program, as well as a critical home repair program in Dacono.
He added the next big push will be recruiting more volunteers. He said Habitat typically has 1,500 volunteers contributing 20,000 labor hours a year.
"We know we're going to need to double that as we ramp up," he said. "We need volunteers now to help us build these homes."
Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, which serves the Boulder Valley area, wasn't one of the country's 84 affiliates to receive a grant, according to that organization.
