Posts tagged Worthy Cause
Boulder County to celebrate opening of Josephine Commons, named for a mine owner AND a human rights activist
Oct 11th
Boulder County, Colo. – Just one year after its groundbreaking, project managers, elected officials, and residents will gather on Thursday, Oct. 18 to celebrate the grand opening of Josephine Commons, one of Boulder County’s largest affordable housing developments.
The grand opening celebration will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Josephine Commons, 455 N. Burlington Ave. in Lafayette. Congressman Jared Polis and the Boulder County Commissioners will be among those who will speak. There will be tours of the buildings and property, and the public is invited to attend.
Planning, construction, and operations of Josephine Commons are being overseen by the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA), a division of the county’s Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS). The county received a Certificate of Occupancy in late August for Phase I of the project, and had leased all of the apartments within five days. “The very quick lease-up is certainly a testament to the need for low-income housing in Boulder County,” said Frank Alexander, who is director of both the BCHA and BCDHHS. “It’s heartening to know that this project is helping boost the self-sufficiency and dignity of so many of our seniors.”
Phase I of Josephine Commons features 74 units on 3.4 acres of county-owned land in east Lafayette. This includes 70 apartment-style units in a mid-rise building. The 78,000-square-foot three-story main building also features a library, great room and large commercial kitchen. The project’s Phase II, Aspinwall at Josephine Commons, will feature 72 additional townhomes and duplex units for low-income seniors and families, and will break ground in mid-2013.
Funding for the $17.9 million Phase I of Josephine Commons has come largely from private investors through Low Income Housing Tax Credits arranged by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. Significant support also came from Boulder County taxpayers through $400,000 in Worthy Cause funding. And $550,000 in Colorado Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds were provided by the Colorado Division of Housing. Other business support included a $12 million construction loan from Citibank.
Josephine Commons is named afterone-time owner of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company, which once ran a coal mine where the development now sits. In the early 1930s, Roche stood out as a champion of workers’ rights, instituting the highest wages in the mining industry, fighting against child labor, and inviting unionization of her mines.
Also significant is the fact that the retired coal mines were used as renewable energy for Josephine Commons. Geothermal wells were drilled to depths of 400 feet, passing through the old mine shafts. Pipes were then installed to feed the heating and cooling systems, a process that greatly reduces the energy required for temperature control in the buildings. The project also features more than 100 kilowatts of rooftop and carport solar panel electricity generation.
Boulder County Human services nonprofit agencies apply for 2013 funding
May 9th
Boulder County, Colo. – Nonprofit human service agencies and housing authorities in Boulder County may now apply for capital funds through Boulder County’s 2013 Worthy Cause pool.
The Worthy Cause Request for Funding application for 2013 pool funding is available on the Boulder County website atwww.BoulderCounty.org/gov/tax/pages/worthycause.aspx. Applications must be submitted by June 22.
During the 2008 General Election, Boulder County voters approved an extension of the .05 percent Worthy Cause sales tax with 73 percent of the vote. The 10-year initiative allocates a portion of sales tax revenue to Boulder County nonprofit human service agencies for capital projects, including the purchase of land or buildings; construction; renovation or debt reduction.
Revenues from the sales tax will be divided into two allocations: dedicated funding for nonprofit human service agencies that were identified in the ballot initiative, and competitive “pool” funding, for which qualifying nonprofit agencies may now apply via the Request for Funding process.
Throughout the course of Worthy Cause III, sales tax revenues have been leveraged through fundraising and other grants to strengthen our community services in early childhood learning, family support services, basic needs services such as food, clothing, housing and shelter, domestic violence and healthcare. To date, 28 local nonprofit human service agencies have been awarded approximately $5.5 million in capital awards since voters reapproved the tax in 2008.
For more information about Worthy Cause and the application process, contact Megan Davis at mdavis@bouldercounty.org or 303-441-3562.