Building an affordable housing complex for low-income residents in southeast Colorado Springs hasn’t been easy for Solid Rock Christian Center, a nondenominational, multicultural church of about 75 members.

“To go from an empty field to actually having housing has been a long journey, but one that you can see the fruits of your labor,” said the Rev. Benjamin Anderson, senior pastor of Solid Rock Christian Center and executive director of Solid Rock Community Development Corp.

The church will mark the accomplishment of its inaugural housing project with a public grand opening on Thursday. Featuring food, music, speakers and tours, the event begins at 11 a.m. at The Village at Solid Rock, 2510 Arlington Drive.

While Solid Rock is the first church in Colorado Springs to repurpose its land for charitable housing, it’s not the only church to venture into the arena. At least three other local churches are involved with projects to provide low- to moderate-income residents with lower-than-market-rate units.

It’s a trend that city leaders hope will continue.

The idea to encourage philanthropic and faith communities to consider the possibility of the model originated under former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and is continuing with Mayor Yemi Mobolade, said Katie Sunderlin, the city’s interim chief housing officer.

More than 200 churches own property in the city, she said.

“Using their land for housing solutions is something we have really been rallying our faith community to partner with us on because they are one of the larger landholders in our city, and they’re actively engaged in the social issues that we are; affordable housing being one of them,” Sunderlin said. “The scarcity of land available and the high price tag make these partnerships really valuable.”

In the way that for-profit developers cobble together a mixture of funding for multifamily projects, faith-based entities can apply to the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for tax credits.

“It’s a big lift and takes a lot of buy-in from the community to be successful, which Solid Rock has been,” Sunderlin said.

After two years since the project broke ground, the first residents of the 77-unit complex of one-, two- and three-bedroom independent apartments started moving in two weeks ago, Anderson said.

“One of the things that makes it special is to hear the residents say how beautiful the place is and how nice it is to have a place to live,” he said.

Each Village at Solid Rock apartment has its own washer and dryer, and the complex offers a large community room, exercise room and outdoor play area.

Residents who earn between 30% and 80% of the area median income are eligible, said Kassandra Haynesworth, associate director of compliance for Greccio Housing, a a local nonprofit that manages the campus.

Monthly market-rate rent for one-bedroom units in Colorado Springs runs between $1,200 and $1,800, she said. At The Village at Solid Rock, a one-bedroom rents for $500 to $1,400 a month, she said. Two- and three-bedroom units are priced between $600 and $1,400 a month.

Fifteen apartments are still available, Haynesworth said, adding that she’s contacting 200 people on a waiting list that began being compiled in January to see if they qualify.

“It just shows the need for affordable housing,” she said. “People are having a hard time finding that.”

An interest list generated in February 2023 produced more than 700 names, Anderson said.

A project of the nonprofit Solid Rock Community Development Corp. and CommonWealth Development, the $25 million apartment complex sits on previously empty land the church owned adjacent to its worship center.

“I like the fact that it is right next to the church. It is a symbol of our outreach and impact in our community,” Anderson said.

“It’s the mission and role of the church; we are to help rebuild people’s lives, and affordable housing is one of the challenges the city is having. When you have people with a stable place to live, it lends itself to having a stable economy.”

But some people are concerned about undue restrictions placed on residents should faith communities attach conditions to residency, as has been done in other cities.

“Faith communities can do a lot of good in these spaces, and they aren’t generally bad actors, they’re doing these things because they want to make a difference,” said Ben Slightom, a post-doctoral fellow who works for the Center for Religious Diversity and Public Life at the University of Colorado’s campus in Colorado Springs.

Yet sometimes, projects in other cities such as Detroit, the subject of his doctoral dissertation for Yale University that focused on low-income housing and Black women’s activism, are rife with issues.

Part of one project’s goal was to improve the sponsoring church’s image and public reputation, Slightom said, so the contract contained an agreement that would result in tenant removal upon speaking to the media without prior approval from the church.

“We have to emphasize to think about what it truly means to provide assistance in a way that’s open and honest and transparent for churches who are dealing with a population who are coming out of a traumatic stage of their life,” he said. “What does it mean to engage this community in a way that’s congruent with our spiritual beliefs and for actual assistance to our most vulnerable communities.”

Other local churches in various stages of affordable housing development:

• Woodmen Valley Chapel, in concert with Greccio Housing, has been awarded 9% in federal and $700,000 in standard state housing tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority for a 50-unit senior affordable housing project called Sunrise at Shiloh Mesa, on the church’s Woodmen Heights campus to the northeast. The church and its nonprofit Center for Strategic Ministry donated the land from the church’s property. Households earning 30% to 50% of the area median income will qualify. Residents will be offered transportation assistance, on-site social interaction, food pantry access and volunteer opportunities, according to its application.

• Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church at 1 S. Walnut St., has contracted with a developer and financial consultant to apply for Prop 123 funds and explore whether the church can develop affordable housing on its property, Sunderlin said. Colorado voters approved a ballot measure in 2022 to fund affordable housing projects using 0.1% of the state’s annual income tax revenue.

• Mary’s Home, a project of Dream Centers of Colorado Springs, did not receive tax credits in 2024 for an expansion of its supportive housing program for single women exiting homelessness but is continuing to pursue fundraising to relocate the residential center, Haven at Lakeside.

• Solid Rock Christian Center and its community development group plan to build another affordable-housing complex with 75 units at Chelton Road and Jetwing Drive. The nonprofit purchased the property in 2022 for $3.5 million, according to county records. It also runs a community food pantry and youth initiatives, and is creating a mixed-use development. A program for low-income renters to transition to home ownership also is in the works.

“Affordable housing in some ways is a Band-Aid,” Anderson, pastor of Solid Rock Christian Center, said. “It should be a transition stage for home ownership because home ownership is how you create wealth in communities and is a tool to build generational wealth in families.”