Brothers Redevelopment Brings the Paint-A-Thon to Colorado Springs, Courtesy of ANB Bank

***For the first time in decades, the nonprofit will stage the 40-year volunteer house-painting tradition in Colorado Springs
—Thanks to new sponsor ANB Bank

COLORADO SPRINGS — Brothers Redevelopment’s Paint-A-Thon program is marking its 40th year brightening the homes and lives of senior homeowners by launching its first painting project in Colorado Springs in 20 years on Sept. 8.

Thanks to financial support and employee volunteers from ANB Bank, a crew will paint the home of an income-qualified senior or disabled homeowner — at no cost to them.

Through Paint-A-Thon, Brothers has painted roughly 7,400 houses using more than 133,000 volunteers — and we’re ready still to take on Front Range houses whose eligible owners need and want an exterior paint job.

The Paint-A-Thon program offers qualified homeowners the chance to devote their resources and fixed incomes to other important costs, such as medication, groceries and bills, without having to forgo maintenance of their most important investment—their home. Painting a home can cost upward of $5,000.

The Paint-A-Thon is yet another way that Brothers is improving the lives of Colorado Springs residents.  In March, the City of Colorado Springs extended and expanded its three-year relationship with Brothers by tapping the nonprofit to relaunch its Residential Rehabilitation Program. It offers grants for income-qualified homeowners to make important and essential repairs that improve at-home mobility and safety.

During that same time span, Brothers has been providing housing counseling and rental navigation to Colorado Springs residents, thanks to support from the Colorado Division of Housing and El Paso County.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to stage our signature event in Colorado Springs,” says Jeff Martinez, president of Brothers Redevelopment.  “Because the Paint-A-Thon relies on donations, we just had to plot a sustainable financial path to offer this great service to seniors outside of the Denver area.  Thanks to ANB Bank, this can now happen.”

Everyone needs a little Paint-A-Thon in their lives:

• Nominate a family member, friend, neighbor or yourself
• Must be an income-eligible homeowner of 60+ or disabled
• Homeowners must stay in the house at least 2 more years
• Homeowners must be onsite the day of painting
• The house can’t be taller than one and a half stories
• The house must need an exterior paint job
• Volunteers must be able to finish painting in 1 day
• Volunteers can make minor exterior repairs, clean up yards

For everything you needed to get involved as a homeowner, volunteer or sponsor: Call Brothers Redevelopment, 720.339.5864. Or, email Chad Nibbelink at chad@brothersredevelopment.org. Visit BrothersRedevelopment.org.

About Brothers Redevelopment Inc.— Established in 1971, this Denver-based nonprofit provides a range of housing solutions for the region’s low-income, elderly and disabled residents.

About ANB Bank — ANB Bank is a bank with the strength, talent, commitment and security to fulfill our business and personal customers’ financial needs. Whether it’s deposit services, loans or investment management & trust services, ANB customers will experience creative and flexible solutions to satisfy customers’ financial needs across 30 banking centers serving Colorado, Wyoming and the Kansas City metro area.

Colorado Springs provides $500,000 to improve single-family housing stock 

****The City of Colorado Springs is providing $500,000 to rehabilitate single-family housing under a program managed by housing nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment

*** The City is using federal funds and Brothers’ expertise to make essential repairs at homes of low- and moderate-income residents 

**Brothers Redevelopment will vet homeowner applications and use an open bidding process to choose among approved, qualified contractors and service providers to complete 50 to 65 projects

*For Brothers services, please call toll-free at Colorado Housing Connects, 1-844-926-6632, or email hmr@brothersredevelopment.org

Colorado Springs, June 4 — The City of Colorado Springs is providing $500,000 from its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in a major effort to improve single-family housing stock for its low- to moderate-income city residents between now and March 2019.

The City of Colorado Springs has selected trusted Front Range housing nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment Inc. to manage 50 to 65 projects at single-family homes. The work includes making essential repairs, correcting substandard or unsafe conditions, removal of any mobility barriers for the disabled and improvement of energy efficiency. Brothers continues to offer emergency water, sewer and heating system repairs through this program.

Under the new grant program, Brothers Redevelopment staff will review completed applications and give priority to households with elderly homeowners or disabled family members. Income-qualified households will be contacted by a housing rehabilitation coordinator to schedule an initial inspection of the home.

Residents who may apply for funds include those homeowners whose incomes are at or below the area median income (AMI), which is $38,850 for a family of four. The home must be the owner’s primary residence, lie within city limits and have a value that does not exceed $251,750, as stated on the El Paso County Assessor Public Record Search.

Brothers Redevelopment is no stranger to Colorado Springs residents. During the past three years, the nonprofit has been working with the city through its community development program to repair and stabilize homes. Last year, more than 50 households in Colorado Springs (and 12 in unincorporated El Paso County) benefitted from the program.

In late 2017, Brothers Redevelopment opened a Colorado Springs office and began providing free housing and rental counseling to residents. This year, the agency plans to offer its popular Paint-A-Thon in the area — a program that recruits teams of volunteers to paint the homes of income-qualified senior and disabled homeowners at no charge.

“Brothers Redevelopment is honored to play a greater role in housing preservation for Colorado Springs residents,: said Brothers Redevelopment President Jeff Martinez. “Through our efforts, we hope to help homeowners stay in their homes longer and more safely, and to stabilize neighborhoods throughout the city.”

Complete information on eligibility and the application process is provided on the Colorado Springs website. (coloradosprings.gov/community-development/page/application-programs). Residents can download an application at the city site or request one from Brothers Redevelopment, by emailing hmr@brothersredevelpment.org or by calling Colorado Housing Connects, 1-844-926-6632.

If interested in applying, submit a completed and signed application by mail to Brothers Redevelopment Inc., 2250 Eaton St. Garden Level B, Edgewater, CO 80214; or, send it by fax to 303-274-1314.

Brothers’ Home Modification and Repair Department (HMR) will develop an open and competitive bidding process to create a list of qualified, licensed and insured contractors to carry out projects under the program.

To receive more information about the program, or to learn more about Brothers Redevelopment’s comprehensive housing programs and services, such as its Aging In Place Initiative for seniors, please call Colorado Housing Connects, 1-844-926-6632, or visit brothersredevelopment.org.

About Brothers Redevelopment Inc.— Established in 1971, this Front Range nonprofit provides a range of housing solutions for the region’s low-income, elderly and disabled residents.

THE MISSION:

Under threat of being erased from Denver’s urbanscape, the historic neighborhoods and families of Globeville, Elyria-Swansea (GES) are taking a stand against displacement and housing shortages.

To preserve affordable housing and community identity and values, neighborhood residents have become leaders shaping their own better future through the creation with nonprofit partners of the GES Coalition. Together they have established the GES Community Land Trust and GES Affordable Housing Collaborative to ensure long-term community ownership and oversight of housing.

Summary of Goals:

• Preventing displacement of residents
• Preserving affordable housing and neighborhood character
• Fostering community ownership and oversight
• Advocacy for recommended policies and zoning Summary of Activities:
• Activating resident leadership
• Creating GES Community Land Trust
• Forming the GES Affordable Housing Collaborative
• Assessing housing needs
• Developing housing programs
• Raising funds for investment in affordable housing

RESULTS:

The GES Affordable Housing Collaborative — a partnering of community members in the GES Coalition, nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment Inc. (BRI) and the Colorado Community Land Trust (CCLT)— has received a $2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation for mitigation of impacts from expansion of Interstate 70 through the neighborhoods.

• The generous $2 million CDOT grant awarded Brothers enables the collaborative to acquire single-family homes for placement in the neighborhood land trust, by which residents may own their dwellings and even resell them, while the land itself remains in trust for the community.
• The partners will set aside more than $300,000 to rehabilitate houses and preserve the hard-earned equity of existing homeowners.
• Other portions of the grant will be applied toward new construction/redevelopment of parcels/properties that also will provide affordable housing for dozens of families in the neighborhood.
• The collaborative will work with federal, state and local leaders, as well as foundations, to leverage the substantial investment made by CDOT.