COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A new affordable housing complex coming to southeast Colorado Springs will include a unique amenity to help support tenants living on tight budgets.
“There's going to be a six-classroom child daycare facility there, which is really a place where working families have affordable access to really, really high-quality child education,” said Pikes Peak Reals Estate Foundation, Executive Director, Samuel Clark.
Early Connections Learning Centers which has been advocating for children in Colorado Springs for more than 125 years is collaborating on the project.
“High quality early education for your children, zero to five when you are trying to work and especially trying to build your family and build your capacity to be a highly contributing member of our community, it's a great opportunity,” said Early Connections Learning Centers, President & CEO, Liz Deson.
A mom and now daycare administrator Amanda Gonzalez thinks the idea is great.
Finding daycare caused a lot of anxiety when she moved to Colorado Springs.
“Imagine for a parent coming in, for them to be able to wake up in the morning and walk downstairs and take their child to a good quality program.”
The project got a financial boost from state funding made available through Proposition 123 that was passed by voters.
The ballot question allowed the state to retain TABOR dollars to help support affordable housing projects.
This project was awarded just over $4.8 million.
“The state has invested in buying land for future affordable housing assets. And we're really lucky that we are able to get one of the largest investments in the history of that program,” said Clark.
The site of the complex is also strategic.
It is near the growing Peak Innovation Park where job opportunities are expanding.
The housing if for working people.
“The way that this works is the housing is affordable to families making 60% of the area median income or below,” said Clark.
The apartments will be located near the intersection of Powers Boulevard and Bradley Road on the southeast side of Colorado Springs.
Colorado lawmakers tackled the housing affordability issue this last session. They passed a law designed to make building homes less expensive.
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