$3M investment brings BoulderMOD affordable homes to Marshall Fire burn area

A $3 million investment from Community Foundation Boulder County will help bring permanently affordable homes to neighborhoods impacted by the 2021 Marshall Fire — with Boulder Valley School District students playing a hands-on role in the rebuilding effort.

On Thursday, February 20, the foundation awarded Flatirons Habitat for Humanity $3 million to support construction of 10 permanently affordable homes in Louisville.

The homes will be built through BoulderMOD, a modular housing production facility operated in partnership by the City of Boulder, Flatirons Habitat for Humanity, and the Boulder Valley School District. The facility allows students in BVSD’s Apex Construction Trades program to work alongside professionals while building homes for local families.

Eleven homes have already been completed through BoulderMOD, with another 15 currently under construction.

WATCH: Students Get to Work at the BoulderMOD

The project is intended to serve families between 30% and 80% of the area median income and to prevent the displacement of members of the community who are at risk of being priced out.

“Median home prices in Boulder County exceed $850,000. In the relatively affordable Broomfield, they are approaching $700,000. More than half of our renters are cost burdened by spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That means teachers and nurses and first responders and working families are being priced out of the very communities that they serve,” explained Dan McColley, executive director for Flatirons Habitat for Humanity during the ceremony.

“We know that this investment will not only help the broader community, but it will help renters,” said Tatiana Hernandez, chief executive officer of Community Foundation Boulder County.  “It will help people that were priced out of the Marshall Fire to come back, come home.”

McColley says the $3 million commitment from the Community Foundation will be transformational. Two million dollars is a direct investment in building the homes. Another $1 million is a community match. 

“That match is an open door. It's an invitation for our neighbors, partners, and donors to step in with us and make sure affordability isn't lost in the wake of the Marshall Fire," McColley said.

Donations may be made on the Flatirons Habitat for Humanity donation website.