Eaddy’s congregation acquired 32 city lots through the 1990s and initially constructed its church building on eight of them in 2000. In 2011, the church began its first affordable housing development on the remaining land; the first residents moved into Harvest Homes in 2016. Through its community development association, the church also offers other tenants and community members services such as an after-school program, financial literacy classes, first-time homebuyer education, and food distribution programs. While Harvest Homes’ apartments are available to any qualified community member, Anderson said she found out about the program through the church. Her apartment is within walking distance of both the church and her eight-year-old daughter Navayah’s school. After living with family members, she’s happy to have her own home. “I’m the first resident to be living here in this apartment that’s been built from the ground up,” Anderson says. “It’s a very good feeling to be in your own space after living with a lot [of other] people. I love where I’m living.” Jamie Smarr, who oversees joint-venture partnerships between the NHP foundation and other nonprofit organizations, says that communities of faith have a long history in the affordable housing space. In the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development encouraged the development of senior housing through the 202 Program. Many churches, by organizing as a nonprofit, oversaw the development of affordable senior housing projects until the program was phased out in the late 1980s. Some existing senior housing stock came out of the 202 Program. “Recently, a lot more faith-based organizations are beginning to rekindle this idea,” Smarr says. He says many churches are facing declining attendance and are looking for new ways to engage with the local community. According to Smarr, some churches, mosques, and synagogues are repurposing unused land, and others are razing existing buildings and rebuilding new structures that include a church, with the rest dedicated to housing. Nathan Hunt, director of economic justice at the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, adds that many churches want to be part of solutions that address the root causes of problems, such as a lack of affordable housing, in their neighborhoods. “Communities of faith have as part of their mission and identity a call to serve the community, and that’s often framed in terms of loving their neighbors,” he says. Faith communities of all religious backgrounds often look at their land as an asset that they have been given to steward. According to Hunt, land costs are often around 20 percent of an affordable housing deal. “Congregations can play a big role in helping to take a good chunk of that cost out of the process or just make sure that land falls into the hands of responsible developers who are going to build equity and inclusion into their properties,” he says. There are several different models that faith-based organizations can pursue, such as tiny home villages, permanent supportive housing, permanent affordable housing for low-income families, and owner-occupied homes, which often involve community land trusts. Some churches have converted existing buildings into housing, while others will sell their property to developers of affordable housing at below-market rates. In Denver, Hunt has worked with dozens of churches that have expressed interest in providing their land for affordable housing. While there are no national statistics available, the Interfaith Alliance estimates that there are nearly 5,000 acres of unused church-owned land in the greater Denver metropolitan area.
Faith-based groups and churches across the US are collaborating with municipal authorities to address the lack of affordable housing for those on low incomes. As well as offering the chance to build communities and provide additional services, such as after-school programmes and financial literacy classes, churches can also make use of unused land. There are almost 5,000 acres of unused church-owned land in the greater Denver metropolitan area alone, the Interfaith Alliance estimates.