The need for income-dependent affordable housing in Colorado Springs remains high, but two new expansions coming online are expected to make a dent in the gap between demand and supply.

The Myron Stratton Home’s Chamberlin Hall

The wait was worth it, John Sanchez says, looking around his new home at Chamberlin Hall.

He became number 500 on the waiting list when he applied in 2012 to live in an affordable housing unit at the historic Myron Stratton Home campus in Colorado Springs.

“I would check in every year,” Sanchez said.

His placement fell to 50 deep this year, and in July, his number came up.

Now, in his early 70s and retired from church work, Sanchez said he’s happy to be an inaugural resident of the first apartment building in an 81-unit affordable-housing complex for ages 62 and older.

“Being for seniors in the lower-income community was a good benefit for me,” he said. “The property is just beautiful, and it’s very peaceful. I’m slowly meeting people, and everyone has made me feel welcome. I have no complaints.”

About 150 people attended a ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony of Chamberlin Hall, signifying the largest expansion project in the nonprofit Myron Stratton Home’s 112-year history.

The 105-acre campus off South Nevada Avenue is a result of the generosity and foresight of Winfield Scott Stratton, who in 1893 became the first millionaire of the Cripple Creek Gold Rush boom.

Stratton stipulated in his will that a place named after his father, Myron, be built to house poor seniors, needy children and the infirmed.

The Myron Stratton Home has operated since 1913, and Stratton’s desires continue to be honored through affordable housing and assisted-living facilities on site, as well as various programs, services and grantmaking the foundation does.

Royalties on Stratton’s secondary mining claims apart from his Big Kahuna, the Independence Mine, are funding the expansion, said Dan O’Rear, executive director of the Myron Stratton Home.

“We get royalty checks every quarter from claims Mr. Stratton bought 125 years ago, and with gold now more than $3,700 an ounce now, it’s been able to pay for our construction,” he said.

The project represents the largest affordable housing donation from a private foundation in the state, according to O’Rear.

The first new building, at a cost of $18 million, features 47 independent-living units on three stories for singles and couples. It ran a few months over schedule, O’Rear said, but came in under budget.

With red clay-tiled roofing, stucco and private balconies, the architecture of the new complex matches existing buildings on the campus.

“We wanted it to look like it belonged,” O’Rear said.

Interior features include a bistro area for community dining, with “grab-and-go” meals soon to be available. There’s also a reception area, conference room, mailroom, fitness center with classes, a telehealth and physical therapy room and an exterior courtyard with four fire pits and plenty of gathering space.

To qualify to live at Chamberlin Hall, seniors must earn 30% to 50% of the area median income. Apartments at the lowest level of leasing are most in demand and have gone quickly, he said. Seniors whose income is 30% of the area median income pay about $570 per month in rent.

The second phase that’s now getting underway will add 34 more apartments for a total of 81 and bring the project cost to $30 million, according to O’Rear.

The property also has housing for 84 other seniors in independent living and 30 residents in an assisted-living center. About one-quarter of residents receive a monthly income of $1,000 or less, he said.

The first new building constitutes a 60% increase in affordable independent living apartments, and the second phase will more than double the organization’s capacity.

The property’s waiting list for affordable housing for seniors now tops 800 names, O’Rear said.

“This is just one more chapter in Mr. Stratton’s philanthropy — it’s another indication of what he wanted us to do,” he said.

GPR Properties’ Bentley Commons Apartments

The total buildout of 192 units of affordable housing in southeast Colorado Springs has been completed at 2715 Bentley Point, and the project’s trio of developers will hold a grand opening and ribbon cutting on Oct. 7.

“The buildings and the landscaping are just beautiful — we’re really proud of it,” said Mary Stegner, executive director of Partners in Housing.

Her organization, which offers transitional housing and support services for people who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, built the project together with two other local nonprofits: Greccio, which leases affordable rentals in nearly 30 apartment developments in town and will be the property manager; and Rocky Mountain Land Trust, which provides affordable home ownership programs.

The ceremony will mark the debut of 168 new units of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for singles and families earning between 30% and 60% of area median income. Of those, 28 are dedicated for formerly homeless veterans.

“The first units came online in March, and just about every month after that we added another building until construction was completed,” Stegner said.

The 7-acre Bentley Commons off Hancock Expressway near South Academy and Astrozon boulevards began life as a luxury condominium development but after completing one complex went bankrupt during the Great Recession.

The 24 existing condos and clubhouse that opened in 2009 on the site have been renovated, and with the new construction ending after 21 months since beginning, the property has a total of seven apartment buildings.

The remaining new units should be fully leased by year’s end, Stegner said. The waiting list of people interested in living there has nearly 400 names.

“We’re seeing high continued need for various reasons,” she said.

The campus includes a business and computer center, a community space, a central park with playgrounds and electric-vehicle charging stations.