Regional Collaboration Yields 83 New Homes

Southeast Colorado Enterprise Development (SECED), Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD), 4Points Funding, and Bywater Development LLC held groundbreaking for High Prairie Homes, a southeast Colorado workforce housing development project, on May 25 at 1:30 p.m., Las Animas, Colorado, at Memorial Field (just east of the John Rawlings Museum).

Housing in the southeastern plains of Colorado has been a long-standing issue in crisis. The immediacy of this need was made clear when SCEDD hosted public meetings across the region as a step in completing the five-year comprehensive economic development strategies. The lack of housing was a “weakness” and “threat” across the region. It was mentioned over and over that communities could not recruit/hire teachers, first responders, skilled medical staff, and retail workers due to the lack of affordable housing within a reasonable diving distance to the job site.

Collaborative conversations began in haste. Boards of county commissioners and municipal governments were contacted concerning the lack of workforce housing and possible solutions. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was a huge part of that solution. Municipalities and counties pledged a percentage of their ARPA funding to the developing plan to build affordable housing across the region.

Bywater Development, LLC, who had experience in developing workforce housing, was awarded the contract to work with SECED and SCEDD to complete the project. Collectively, sixteen municipal governments, six boards of county commissioners, two nonprofits and a builder found common ground to build 83 new homes – 17 single family homes and 33 duplexes, owned
by 4Points Funding, who specializes in workforce development projects located in Opportunity Zones.

(Editor’s Note: Prowers County Commissioner, Tom Grasmick, told The Prowers Journal that apparently this project has spurred interest in private housing construction as the county has received inquiries from outside the region on the housing need in the six southeast Colorado counties.)