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Habitat, Local Leaders Kick Off Aria Homes Construction

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Local leaders and Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver team members kicked off construction of Habitat’s newest development on Wednesday, March 10, by raising the first wall in the 28-home community, Aria Homes by Habitat.

Aria Homes by Habitat is one of the final developments being built in the Aria Denver community. Aria Denver is a diverse, mixed-income community, with diverse housing options ranging from luxury apartments to renovated co-housing units. There’s even a community garden, which residents will harvest together. Now, Habitat Metro Denver will bring more diversity to the neighborhood with 28 affordable townhomes. The new homes will be part of the Colorado Community Land Trust, a division of Habitat Metro Denver that makes homes more affordable by holding ownership of the land on which a home sits, while the homeowner retains possession of the home itself.

The wallraising marked an important milestone for a community first envisioned 16 years ago, said Sue Powers, president of Urban Ventures and master developer of Aria Denver. Powers’ firm purchased the property, owned by the Sisters of St. Francis from 1938 to 2012, and worked with the sisters to create a vision for its future.

Watch our construction kickoff event.

“As it turns out, even though we came from very different backgrounds, with the help of a six-pack of beer, we sat down one day and we figured out that we could do this together and that we had very, very similar values,” Powers said. “We really wanted to create a neighborhood that was attached to the neighborhoods next to it.”

At least one future resident of Aria Homes by Habitat, Rene, says she’s grateful for the opportunity to live in this new community.

“This year, having a home is more important than ever especially because of the pandemic and our new normal,” she shared. “We just can’t be without a good home knowing we might need to quarantine at any given point. Stability is what we need.”

The importance of having affordable homes in this particular neighborhood can’t be overstated, said Denver City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, who was born and raised in Northwest Denver.

“What used to be modest starter homes in this neighborhood, called Chaffee Park, has skyrocketed in price well beyond what a household with even two full-time incomes can afford,” Sandoval said. “Being born and raised in this neighborhood and seeing it change throughout my life…. what brought people to Northwest Denver was the socioeconomic diversity and the people. And as the councilperson for this neighborhood, I’m always looking for opportunities to bring homeownership into Denver.”

With construction underway, Habitat Metro Denver crews hope to have the first townhomes complete and ready to move in this fall 2021.

Learn more about Aria Homes by Habitat.

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