City of Cheyenne receives $1.8 million for affordable housing investment

The State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB) awarded $1.8 million to the city of Cheyenne to develop infrastructure on a plot of land where Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County intends to develop affordable housing units.

Habitat has owned the land for more than three years, after it was donated by Leaning Tree Homes, but has never had the funds to develop it.

“It’s literally a plot of land with no water, no sewer, no access, no roads, no nothing,” said city Grants Manager Renee Smith. “Habitat, they get donated land like this a lot, because I think it’s hard to develop them.”

The $1.8 million received will solely be used for developing this infrastructure on the land so that Habitat may begin building affordable homes on it.

The 0.93-acre plot is located on Storey Boulevard, west of Ridge Road. It is near North Cheyenne Community Park and Meadowlark Elementary School. Smith said making these affordable housing pockets in good areas is an important step toward making generational change within a community.

“This is a great win for not only the city and Habitat, but our community because we are suffering from a lack of affordable housing,” said Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County Executive Director Dan Dorsch.

A recent housing study conducted by Laramie County Community College and the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce said “to have a properly functioning housing market, Laramie County will be 1,150-1,250 housing units short of what’s needed” by 2028, including 600 apartment units.

The population of Cheyenne is also projected to continue growing over the next decade, particularly driven by the introduction of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile project.

“You’re talking about affordable housing for families who can be homeowners in a good neighborhood,” Smith said.

Meetings on how to develop the property will begin in January between the city Engineer’s Office, the city’s Planning and Development Department, Habitat for Humanity, the developer and the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities.

While there is no set timeline, Smith said she is hopeful infrastructure developments will be completed in 2024, Habitat can begin construction in 2025, and the properties will be available to the community by 2026.

It’s uncertain exactly how many housing units will be developed there, but a rough estimate projects 17 affordable housing units — five single-family homes and three quadplexes.

The $1.8 million will be put toward 481 square feet of water main and 1,060 linear feet of sewer main to connect the units to the city’s water and sewer systems.

“I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to the State Loan and Investment Board for awarding this grant and for the state for recognizing the needs for the unmet housing needs proposal,” Dorsch said.

SLIB distributed these funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant program, which was originally created by the federal government to provide COVID-19 relief options.

Cheyenne has received ARPA funds in the past, which have supported projects like the Van Buren Avenue Storm Sewer Interceptor Project. When the city initially applied, it had intended to purchase new land for Habitat to build on, but that was not allowed under the guidelines of the grant.

Instead, Smith pivoted the grant application to support development of the parcel of land known as Pronghorn Crossing.

“It made the most sense for the most bang for our buck,” she said. “And it was the hardest thing that we’ve been able to problem-solve a way to build houses on this land. And when we talked to the state, the state encouraged us to think bigger.”

The grant was rewritten with this new plot in mind in a day and a half to meet the grant application deadline.