Lumien Apartments celebrated its grand opening Thursday after tenants began moving into the income-capped units at 32nd Street and East Animas River Drive on Sept. 23.
Property managers are seeing a mixed group of people interested in filling the complex’s first 50 units, but what the senior citizens, twenty-somethings and single families share in common is a need for affordable housing.
Frances Dance, 53, is taking a respite from work at Mercy Regional Medical Center after she underwent shoulder surgery. While unemployed, Dance wanted to move closer to town and find something affordable but also safer than her former residence near the hospital.
“It was not very secure, especially for someone who lives by herself,” she said. “You can break in, but here the doors are locked in the evening. I don’t have to worry about how safe it is.”
Dance is also paying less for her Lumien apartment, she said.
The new complex, which is the first new rental development in the community since 2008, offers one- and two-bedroom units that range from about $360 to $900 monthly. To qualify for residency, a household of two can earn no more than $35,760.
Lumien is part of an initiative of the Regional Housing Alliance of La Plata County and the La Plata Homes Fund to bring 100 more units of affordable housing to the community within five years. Karen Harkin, community relationship manager with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, said Lumien is one of 12 projects in the county that received low-income housing tax credits. Developments like these have produced more than $2.3 billion in equity throughout Colorado, she said.
“We don’t think about the economic development that comes with affordable housing,” Harkin said. “It does more than create homes. It creates jobs.”
The state housing authority reports an estimated 85 jobs will result from Lumien, as well as $14.5 million in related economic activity in the county.
“We want to make sure this funding stays alive on the federal level,” Harkin added. “It’s so desperately needed.”
Durango’s 2 percent vacancy rate reflects that need, and varied factors render affordable housing difficult to develop in the community.
“One of the primary challenges is the lack of qualified sites because of topography,” said Greg Glade with Solvera Affordable Housing Advisors. “There are not many large enough for more than 20 units. When you do find zoned, quality sites within proximity to town, they’re expensive because it’s rare.”
Labor costs are also higher locally, and workers from masons to framers flock to larger cities where demand is higher and the investment is safer. Or they opt to work on more expensive homes.
The expense of development coupled with keeping rent low also demands a lot of public investment.
“What the state allocates is scarce,” RHA Executive Director Karen Iverson said. “They probably provide funding here every three years on average.”
Property managers anticipated 10 of the 50 new units at Lumien to be filled on Friday.
“We moved from the Midwest for a new job,” new Lumien resident Ferrol Johnson said alongside his wife, Ann, and young son, Sabre. “Since we have a single-family income, we realized how rough the market is here and thought we’d have to go back. Affordable housing to us means a fresh start in a new place. Our goal is to get to a place to pass this (apartment) on to somebody else.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
