Good News Friday!

Today I am excited to announce that the Colorado State Housing Board has voted to provide $150,000 toward the development of a new home Imagine! is planning to build in Broomfield.

The new home will provide safe and affordable housing for six people who have developmental disabilities as well as the multifaceted issues that come with aging. Individuals with developmental disabilities are living longer than ever, and as they age, their needs may become increasingly complex. In addition, with the “sliver tsunami” of retiring and aging baby boomers approaching, the demand for services for seniors is increasing rapidly. Imagine! is poised to be a leader in services for both the population of elders with developmental disabilities and the larger elder population. This home represents another step forward for Imagine! in developing the skills and tools needed to serve these populations.

The home will incorporate green building standards and will be designed with universal design standards to better meet the physical and programmatic needs of its residents. The home will also be constructed to accommodate state-of-the-art technologies to improve the service and support of its residents.

The funding from the Colorado Housing Board is in addition to the $633,700 already pledged by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for construction costs. HUD has also agreed to provide Imagine! $68,100 to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the home for three years.

I want to thank several people who have been instrumental in helping Imagine! move forward with the creation of this home, including Mary Anderies of Anderies Consulting; Denise Selders, Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Division of Housing, Housing Development Specialist; Jodi Walters, Imagine!’s Innovations Director; and Sterling Wind, Imagine!’s SmartHomes Project Manager.

And a special “thank you” to the Colorado State Housing Board for recognizing the need for this housing and for providing such generous support.