School district teams up with nonprofit to offer affordable housing for teachers as incentive

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV/Gray News) – A school district in Colorado Springs is teaming up with a nonprofit to recruit teachers to the area by providing them with affordable housing.

Harrison School District 2, along with local nonprofit We Fortify, is stepping up to make sure teachers can have an apartment of their own at an affordable price.

The district will be opening an apartment complex called Wendy’s Village that will be located on the property of Mountain Vista Community School within the district.

The complex is expected to be built where an old soccer field was.

Wendy’s Village will offer teachers a one-bedroom, 352-square-foot apartment for $825 a month, waiving the first and last month’s rent.

“One of our mantras for We Fortify is that we will never build a community or a home that we wouldn’t put our friends and family in,” a spokesperson for We Fortify said. “And I think when you have that level of excellence, so many people are drawn to it.”

Officials who coordinated the project say they needed to provide teachers with an incentive to teach in Colorado Springs. Creating cost-friendly housing was the method they thought would be most effective.

“We want them to be able to focus on teaching, creating great opportunities for our kids and learning opportunities for our kids, not worrying about ‘How am I going to make the rent?’” said Dr. Mike Claudio, assistant superintendent of personnel support.

The school district said Wendy’s Village is a $6.5 million project, but the district does not have to raise any money for it, nor will it be funded by tax money. However, officials did not clarify how it is being funded.

It’s not yet known when the apartments will open.

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