Nine Families Will Move into the Units in March

Woodland Park, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/28/2018 -- Habitat for Humanity of Teller County began the remarkable transformation of the Lofthouse Inn hotel into nine, affordable housing condo units for local families in early June, 2016. The project, called the Clock Tower Condos, located at 222 E. Henrietta Ave in Woodland Park, Colorado, has been a labor of love for this local Habitat affiliate and the deserving families who will begin moving into their new units in March.

The project started when Habitat for Humanity of Teller County became one of eight nationally-selected affiliates for the 2016 Home Builders' Blitz. Home Builders' Blitz is a program within Habitat International, which recruits professional builders and contractors, bringing them to the build site for a coordinated build. The Home Builders' Blitz is a partnership to build, renovate and repair homes across the United States.

"To kick things off, the Home Depot Foundation provided 200 volunteers, who built all the interior walls, started on landscaping, and demolition. In the last 18 months, we've had the enthusiastic participation of more than 640 community volunteers, collegiate and church groups, Habitat families and local builders who provided over 20,000 volunteer hours," said Jamie Caperton, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Teller County.

In addition to the support of local business, Park State Bank and Trust, Foxworth- Galbraith Lumber, the Teller County Home Builders Association and more than 10 Teller County area contractors were involved in the project from start to finish. "We have had grants in the amount of $139,000, in-kind donations of more than $210,000 and individual donations of more than $98,000," said Caperton. "Also, through partnership with the Woodland Park Community Church, two of the units will be designated as transitional housing - the first transitional housing units in Teller County. These units will be home to families for a period of one-year while they wait for permanent housing to become available."

Each of the Clock Tower Condo units were completely updated and brought up to code, with brand new Whirlpool appliances. The units are right across the street from the Woodland Park Public Library, Memorial Park, the Ute Pass Cultural Center, Midland Pavilion, and just down the street from the Woodland Park High School.

Gail Wingerd, a new unit owner, has been a Habitat for Humanity volunteer for 12+ years and was one of the first people to apply for housing at the Clock Tower Condos. "It's been a true blessing for me to be able to have this opportunity," said Wingerd. "I have lived in the Teller County community for 20 years and America's Mountain is my home. This is a wonderful opportunity for people who need a hand up to be able to own their own home and get stability for their family. It makes you a true part of the community."

"This is a wonderful program and I wish more Habitat affiliates nationwide would look at projects like this in the future and refurbish buildings into condos for families and single women with children who have limited budgets," said Wingerd."

"I just can't say 'Thank You' enough to our partner Park State Bank and Trust and especially to their board of directors who believed in our vision and made this project possible from the very beginning," said Caperton.

"I am so excited and ready for these families to move in! So many different types of people came together to make this happen. Our Teller County community was responsible for transforming something that everybody thought was an eyesore into what it is today with so many people finding their way to touch the project and make it a success," Caperton said.

Clock Tower Condo homeowners purchased their homes through a USDA loan and they will each pay an affordable mortgage between $500 and $650 each month. Additionally, each family completed homebuyer education courses and were required to contribute 300 - 400 hours of "sweat equity" (volunteer hours spent working on their home).

Clock Tower Condo Celebration

The Clocktower Condos are completed, and families are moving in. "Please join us for celebratory cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to highlight completion of this wonder project," Caperton said. "Without the support of so many, these families would not have the privilege of home ownership."

Location: Shining Mountain Golf Course Event Center.
Date: March 9th
Time: 6-7:30 p.m.

RSVP by March 1 to vince@tellerhabitat.org.

Clock Tower Sponsors (A-Z Listing)
Ace Hardware & Supply
Affordable Rooter
Alpine Construction
Alpine Engineering
Amen Plumbing and Heating
American Family Insurance
Anchor Electric
Anderson Enterprises
Araco Concrete
Ascent Commercial Group
Aveda
Banana Belt Liquors
Bert West, Master Roofing
Black Hills Energy
Carmen, LLC
Carpet Direct Co, LLC
Colorado Natural Gas, Inc
Cree, Inc
Cripple Creek & Florissant
Crystola Roadhouse
Daniels Fund
Dirt Cheap Excavation
DOW Appliances
Dr. Robert Elliot, DDS
El Pomar Foundation
Empire Title
Factory Direct Carpets, Inc
Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber
Frank W. Gundy Agency, Inc
Front Range Cabinets
Gates Foundation
Gold Hill Liquors
Gonzalez Concrete
Hazelwood Computer Support
Homeowners Institution
Hunt Construction
Hunter Douglas
Immanuel Lutheran Church
IREA
John G Duncan Charitable Trust
Judd's Glass
Junk King
Martin-Marietta
Mobile Mini
Mountain View United Methodist Church
Myron-Stratton Home
Newmont
Orepec
Panasonic
Park State Bank and Trust
Peak Internet
Peak Plumbing
Pepsi
Perini & Associates, LLC
Pikes Peak Community Foundation
Pikes Peak Regional Hospital
PK Enterprises, Inc
Ply Gem
Rampart Surveys
Remax Performance, Inc
Roofing Supply Group
Schneider Electric
Self-Made Seamless Gutters
Service First Plumbing
Shining Mountain Enterprises
Simonton Windows and Doors
SmartWatt
St. David Episcopal Church
Tamko Building Products
The Comcast Foundation
The Country Lodge
The Home Depot
The Insurance Center
The Moller Law Group
The Roshek Group
The William & Betty Osbourne Trust
Thrivent
United Rentals
Ute Pass Sand and Gravel
Valspar
Walmart
Wells Fargo
Whirlpool
Wildwood Casino
William A. Nein, CPA
Williams Brothers Furniture
WMCK Venture Corp/Century Casino
Woodland Design
Woodland Hardware and Home
Woodland Music Series
Woodland Plumbing and Air
Yale

About The Project
The Lofthouse Motel was built in 1968 as teacher housing and then became a popular 24-room hotel overlooking Pikes Peak and then sat vacant for a decade. Habitat for Humanity of Teller County has given the building new life by renovating it into nine affordable-housing condos.

Learn more at www.tellerhabitat.org.

About Habitat for Humanity Teller County
People in Teller County and all over the world partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call HOME. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Other projects completed in the community include Las Casas in Woodland Park, a Historic Housing Project in Cripple Creek and 31 homes throughout Teller County.

Learn more at www.tellerhabitat.org.

About perini & associates
perini & associates. Taking public relations to new levels. For information about this news release contact perini & associates at 719.651.5943 or email newsmedia@periniassociates.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

HFHT’s mission is to bring people together to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. The organization wants to see a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Woodland Park, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/19/2017 -- A team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members is working with Habitat for Humanity of Teller County (HFHT) doing a variety of tasks including landscaping, construction and roofing. The group of 10 young adults arrived on January 6th and will be serving here through February 17th.

HFHT's mission is to bring people together to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. The organization wants to see a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity of Teller County was established in 1999 by a group of passionate volunteers. These volunteers worked tirelessly to fundraise, acquire land, select families, and manage the logistics to build the first Habitat homes in this community. Since then, HFHT has built homes in Florissant, Victor, Cripple Creek, Divide and Woodland Park.

Over the course of this six-week project, this AmeriCorps NCCC team will be framing sidewalks and gutters, prepping roads for paving, landscaping, building playgrounds, building retaining walls, and doing other general construction, to include roofing work.

"Habitat applied for an NCCC team to help finish and build the Clock Tower Condos to benefit families and the community of Teller County by providing sustainable and affordable housing," said Violet Hanratty, HFHT volunteer coordinator.

AmeriCorps NCCC first served with HFHT in 2015. Since then, three teams previously served with the organization. "Habitat for Humanity of Teller County counts on the significant gift of volunteer hours to be able to keep the cost of these homes down for our families. Especially during the winter months volunteer help is very scarce," said Jamie Caperton, Executive Director. "To be able to count on the gift of an AmeriCorps NCCC team working diligently through this time is incredible. It means we can keep right on building through even the toughest of times. We truly are thankful for what they bring to our families and our organization," Caperton concluded.

Prior to traveling to Woodland Park, members of this team served with the Jefferson County Action Center in Lakewood, Colo., Houston Parks and Recreation in Texas, FEMA in Baton Rouge, the United Methodist Church of Oklahoma in Maysville, Okla., and Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity in Oklahoma City. They began their term of service on October 12, 2016 with three weeks of training at the Denver regional hub. They will continue to complete other 6- to 12-week projects for communities in the central and southwestern United States until they graduate from the 10-month program on July 14, 2017.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, residential, national service program in which up to 2,200 young adults serve nationwide annually.  During their 10-month term, Corps Members – all 18 to 24 years old – work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs. Traditional NCCC members work on a variety of different six- to 12-week-long projects related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members of FEMA Corps, a branch of NCCC, focus their projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Southwest Region campus in Denver is one of five regional hubs in the nation and serves eight states in the central and southwest parts of the country. The other campuses are in Baltimore, Md., Vinton, Iowa, Vicksburg, Miss., and Sacramento, Calif.

In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $5,815 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans.  Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, travel, leadership development, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, people can indeed make a difference.  AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering.

For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at http://www.americorps.gov/nccc.

About Habitat for Humanity Teller County
People in Teller County and all over the world partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call HOME. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Other projects completed in the community include Las Casas in Woodland Park, a Historic Housing Project in Cripple Creek, a home renovation in Guffey and 31 homes build throughout Teller County.

Learn more at www.tellerhabitat.org.

CONTACT:
Heather Dirck
AmeriCorps NCCC - Community Relations Specialist
303-844-7420
hdirck@cns.gov

Adam Bayer
Team Media Representative – On site contact
914-268-7133

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Several grant notifications have been received in support of the Clock Tower Condos project in Woodland Park, Colorado

Woodland Park, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/22/2016 -- Habitat for Humanity of Teller County (Habitat) announced today the award of 4 grants totaling more than $50,000. These new grants were awarded to the Teller County office to be used in assisting families to find affordable housing options.

"We are proud of our recent track record of fostering and encouraging the development of affordable housing" said Jamie Caperton, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity of Teller County. "These new grants showcase how important both the work and the need here is for helping families find affordable homes, especially during the holiday season," said Caperton.

Grant details include:

Challenge Grant

Gates Family Foundation will provide a $15,000 grant if the donation is matched by private contributions. "If you haven't made your contribution in regards to the Home for the Holidays campaign, now is the time with this dollar for dollar match contribution," Caperton said.

Every dollar raised in association with the Home for the Holidays campaign will go towards the goal. The funds will support renovating the Lofthouse Inn – renamed the Clock Tower Condos, located in downtown Woodland Park.

Daniels Fund

The Daniels Fund, established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program, and ethics initiative.

The foundation provided $30,000 to be used toward the transitional housing portion of the Clock Tower Condos.

"We are extremely proud to receive this grant as we know that the Daniels Fund only supports community investments that have the highest goal for success," Caperton said.

John G. Duncan Charitable Trust

This is a Wells Fargo Bank foundation program; Habitat received $5,000 for support to the Clock Tower Condos.

"We know that this trust supports a variety of charitable, benevolent, educational and religious purposes within the state of Colorado, and we are honored that we passed the tough requirements needed to receive the grant," said Caperton.

Pikes Peak Community Foundation

Since 1928, the mission and vision of the foundation has been to "improve the quality of life in the Pikes Peak region."

This generous gift to Habitat for Humanity of Teller County demonstrates both the need and responsiveness of a project like the Clock Tower Condos, according to foundation sources. "The $2,000 gift will have a significant impact on the Clock Tower Condos by providing the agility to move forward and get families into affordable housing in our community sooner rather than later," Caperton said.

All the recent grants, combined with those made earlier in the campaign by the El Pomar Foundation, Osborne Trust and Newmont Mining Corporation, will advance the efforts to provide affordable housing to those in need in Teller County.

"The grants awarded will support much-needed efforts to provide services to benefit deserving individuals who need homes. Words can not express just how much we are thankful, especially during this holiday season, to have such outpouring of support by these four groups," Caperton said.

About Habitat for Humanity of Teller County
People in Teller County and all over the world partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call HOME. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Other projects completed in the community include Las Casas in Woodland Park, a Historic Housing Project in Cripple Creek, a home renovation in Guffey, and 31 homes built throughout Teller County. Habitat is currently renovating the Clock Tower Condos (formerly the Lofthouse Motel) into 9 affordable housing units.

Learn more about Habitat at www.tellerhabitat.org

Media Contact:
For information about this news release contact perini & associates at 719-651-5943 or email newsmedia@periniassociates.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm