Castle Rock Town Council approved the development plan for Wellspring’s multi-family housing project and waived more than $650,000 in fees to support the project.
At the Nov. 7 meeting, council voted unanimously to pass the site development plan and waive town fees for the housing project, which will convert the La Quinta Inn on Park Street into 42 low-income housing units. The total fees waived were $661,635.
The project’s focus is providing housing for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD), with half of the units reserved for tenants with disabilities. All of the housing units will be restricted to people making 30-80% of the area median income.
Douglas County Housing Partnership Deputy Director Artie Lehl said he expects some units will be rented by caregivers for seniors.
“If we went 100% (tenants with disabilities), now you’re talking about an institution, which is not quite the same thing,” he said. “This is about independent living and thriving.”
Wellspring Executive Director Nicole DeVries said offering an integrated housing model helps adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or IDD, be successful and build community.
“I believe Castle Rock is a better community because we fully include adults with IDD in our community and what we do every day,” she said.
There will be 22 studios and 20 one-bedroom units with 66 parking spaces. Rent will range from $615 to $1,436. The building will include 24/7 resident assistant staff and security.
With the restricted rents, Lehl and DeVries said the project needed the town to waive its development impact fees to be able to make the development viable.
DeVries said there’s a huge need for this kind of housing because over 20,000 adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Colorado live with a caregiver over the age of 60.
Wellspring already has 70 people on its waitlist for units.
“What it’s providing is hope for our families that there will be solutions for residential care and housing for their loved ones as they begin to age,” DeVries said. “I truly believe it’s going to put Castle Rock on the map as being a town that’s helping to address a statewide issue.”
Many current Wellspring volunteers, called Stars, showed up to the council meeting to show their support for the housing project, including Damon Bunch, who told council about the importance of the opportunity to live independently.
“It gives us with IDD, and Stars, a chance to show the world that we’re more than what they think,” Bunch said. “It gives us a way in the world and it gives us hope and a future.”