Wesley Townhomes

Heart of Longmont entered into a partnership with the nonprofit The Inn Between in July, 2022. The Inn Between of Longmont provides affordable housing rental to individuals and families who are below 40% of the median income level for Boulder County.

The housing project will involve construction of approximately 11 2-story units for families to rent at the North end of the HOL parking lot. The housing will be long term rental, but also serve as a stepping stone to home ownership as families become more financially stable.

The project is estimated to be 2 years to completion.

Watch the video from the service on July 17 to learn how this partnership came to be. Information will be updated periodically as we continue along this venture to put more of God’s love into our community.

 

Preliminary renderings of the Wesley Townhomes site plan and exteriors show placement of 11 units, a community center and a playground. These units will be built on the north end of the Heart of Longmont parking lot.

The project was overwhelmingly approved by the church membership on October 30, 2022. A pre-application meeting with the city on October 19, 2022, has outlined the specifications to meet city requirements.

The drawings of the interior floor plans of the 2 and 3 bedroom units in addition to the 2 bedroom accessible units show the preliminary  floor plans. Two of the homes will meet the requirements for the American Disabilities Act regulations. 

What is the update on the project?

As part of the deeding process of the land to The Inn Between, a survey must be completed. Bids from 3 survey companies have been attained. Once final questions are answered one of the companies will be selected. The survey will take about 10 weeks to be completed.

Where is the money coming from to pay for the survey?

Grants are being submitted to attain funding.

What about the Wild Plum playground?

The new playground will be identified as The Outdoor Learning Center. The plan has been drafted and we are in the process of refining cost estimates. No costs will be incurred until we have secured funding for the Learning Center.

Who is paying for The Outdoor Learning Center?

Since HOL is the owner of the land, the church is responsible for the expenses incurred for any changes to the land. As noted above, no costs will be incurred until we have funding secured; we, in conjunction with The Inn Between and Wild Plum will be pursuing grants to cover the costs.

Will we be able to see drawings of the housing? 

Renderings of the site plan, building interiors and preliminary exterior drawing are posted in the gallery.

What will happen to the houses if The Inn Between ceases to exist?

The deed transfer of the land to TIB will include a “reverting clause” that if The Inn Between changes its mission of providing low income housing or ceases to exist, HOL will have a right of first refusal for transfer of ownership of the land and apartment units back to HOL.

In addition, TIB has received a Federal grant that ensures the property must be used for affordable housing for 99 years and the individual units cannot be sold.

Will I lose my parking spot?

There is a possibility that parking spaces may shift, however, at this time we are only expecting changes to the North parking lot. The move of the Wild Plum playground will hopefully not impact parking spaces to a great degree. We will update you as this plan takes shape.

What is the cost to the church?

At this time, we expect to incur all necessary costs to convey land, including any surveys, and re-platting, and recording fees that may apply. We are in the process of getting an estimate of these costs, but believe they could be in the $10-15,000 range. We will be pursuing grants to help offset any of the costs to transfer the land.

There is a potential cost for legal assistance for the restricted deed to transfer the land. The estimate of this cost is $2,500.

Another potential cost impact is related to the playground. We are working with Wild Plum to relocate it to a more convenient location for the pre-k and toddlers in the program. Cost estimates are being developed but maybe as much as $30-35,000. Working with TIB and Wild Plum, we will be pursuing grants to help offset the cost.

Finally, it must be noted that one of the costs to the church is the donation of the land; however, this is not a cash cost and as such does not impact church finances.

With the preliminary site design, will we still have access to the far north parking lot entrance? How might this impact traffic flow into and out of our parking lot?

Final design will be impacted by City of Longmont planners, but current considerations are to have the current street entrance plus another one further south (no cost to HOL). An access two-way lane would allow residents to enter the ‘south end drive’ and exit the ‘north end drive’. Church members would enter and exit the ‘south end drive’. This access lane may result in fewer parking spaces for church.

Church members would not be driving through the housing area to enter parking lot.

What disruption do you foresee for the Church?

The most likely disruption will be due to traffic in the north parking lot for construction equipment, although plans for staging materials and equipment would anticipate using the most northeast corner of the lot to minimize impact to Wild Plum and HOL members.

I understand we are donating the land to The Inn Between for the project; given the Church’s financial situation, did we consider selling it?

We recognize the land has inherent value but we did not consider selling the land.

The easy answer as to why, is that the Book of Discipline does not generally allow a church to sell its assets to fund its operating needs.

However, the real reason is that HOL has a missional legacy in Longmont of working hard to address the issues of those in need. You see this in our history with Wild Plum, the OUR Center, St. Vrain Manor, to name a few. Those who came before us, those who supported the purchase of the land, were instrumental in creating this legacy. Now we have an opportunity to further that legacy and believe this gift will be a message to the City, our neighborhood, and within our conference of our desire to continue putting more of God’s love into the world.

How many people per unit? How many parking places will be allocated? Will there be any lawn space for any of the units? Who will do the maintenance (I.e. painting, roofing if needed and small repairs needed in any home?) Who will determine eviction for things like domestic violence, drug use or registered sexual offender, etc.?

The Inn Between will own and manage the development, honoring HOL’s wishes that the residents are families whose income is at or below 40% of Longmont’s Average Median Income. Unit design, occupancy rates, parking, green space, etc. will all be determined by The Inn Between’s architect, with input from HOL, and to ensure compliance with city codes and ordinances.

As for facility maintenance and repairs, again, The Inn Between will handle as the property owner and manager.

Finally residents of the units will be expected to comply with their commitments to The Inn Between, and local laws and regulations.