A nearly $1 million renovation of the decrepit 4U Motel on South Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs wasn’t a “slap on some paint and call it good” remodeling project, leaders of Springs Rescue Mission say.

The makeover that transformed a boarded-up eyesore is what administrators hope is a foreshadowing of what’s to come for tenants, as homeless women move from the mission’s emergency overnight shelter into the new, 12-unit transitional housing complex as a step to self-sufficient living.

“Police officers could tell you story after story of everything that was wrong here, all the things that were traumatic that happened here,” said President and CEO Jack Briggs, who is leaving the job on Sept. 30. “Today, the rescue mission is working to see it redeemed and restored as a place of hope. This is the underdog story.”

Homeless service providers and other residents attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Tuesday, and toured the studio apartments at 1102 S. Nevada Ave.

The property is about a block away from Springs Rescue Mission, the city’s only emergency overnight shelter for single men and women. The Christian organization provides case management, addiction recovery, three hot meals a day, transitional and permanent supportive housing, work programs and other services.

Built in 1955, the 4U motel in recent years was a blighted property and a hub for illegal activity including drug use and prostitution, said Travis Williams, chief development officer who will become interim president and CEO when Briggs steps down.

The story is being rewritten.

With the scent of fresh paint in the air, each unit is ready and waiting for residents who will start moving in next week.

“Like the transformation of the 4U, we’ll see lives of the most vulnerable people, the ones who have the largest need and will integrate into our community well, transformed here,” said Corrie Cole, director of donor relations for Springs Rescue Mission.

“This was a total re-fabrication,” he said. “We took the 4U down to the studs and reimagined it. There was a lot of thought put it into — and now it’s bright and clean.”

Each unit has a separate bedroom with a single cot and bathroom with a shower, and through a locking door shares an adjoining kitchenette with the next-door neighbor. The kitchen includes a microwave, mini fridge, sink and cupboards.

A colorful handmade quilt covers each single bed, with an inspirational and metaphorical letter from the quilter waiting for new residents to read.

Audrey, a donor, writes that she didn’t know how to make a quilt before she volunteered to make 12 of them. But Audrey says God answered her prayers by sending the right people to teach her and show her the way to accomplish that.

One thing she learned was that she could turn scraps of fabric into “something meaningful and beautiful,” as she washed, ironed, measured, cut, pinned and sewed the material.

“If your quilt could talk it would tell you it was painful, but that discomfort was so worth the outcome of having a new life and a new purpose,” Audrey writes.

Homeless people who graduate from a Springs Rescue Mission program in preparation for being re-housed and supporting themselves qualify for a unit. They’ll sign 18-month leases and pay program fees that start at $500 per month and increase in $50 increments that cap out at $750.

Tenants must remain clean and sober during their residency and work on improving income, expenses and budgeting. They also do “career mapping,” to figure out “what is your joy going to look like and how are you going to achieve positive reintegration,” Cole said.

Norwood Development Group purchased the 4U Motel property in 2022 and is leasing it to Springs Rescue Mission for one dollar a year. The company also supported the campus’ 65-unit permanent supportive housing apartment complex known as Greenway Flats, which opened in 2019.

The new complex is one of three buildings that comprise The Studios; the other two are to the south. They also were former motels that Springs Rescue Mission converted to transitional housing for homeless people; one is for men and the third accommodates seniors and people with mobility issues.

The $987,000 cost of the 4U Motel renovation was covered by a fundraising campaign and other community donations, said Keith Schumacher, chief financial officer.

The renovation, which started last fall, was difficult at times, he said. An old swimming pool as well as chunks of concrete that had been buried in the original development needed to be excavated, he said.

Brittney, who has been homeless in Colorado Springs and staying at Springs Rescue Mission for the past year and a half and declined to give her surname, was hanging out with friends nearby on Tuesday.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said of the new complex. “But I’m not sure it’s the best location; there are a lot of people using (drugs) around there.”

Being homeless in Colorado Springs is hard, she said, and really “stinks in the winter because it’s so cold.”

But Brittney said she’s now considering seeing if she can get a unit at The Studios.

“It’s a great opportunity for people,” said Sgt. Olav Chaney, supervisor of the Homeless Outreach Team of the Colorado Springs Police Department. “It’ll help the community and us (law enforcement).”