Client
Mercy Housing
Practices
  • Residential
Size

235,000 SF

Creating a Community that Heals

An intergenerational, permanent supportive and affordable housing community is taking shape in Denver’s La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood, and when complete, will be the region’s first to focus on serving the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

The new mixed-use community will offer approximately 190 rental apartments ranging from one to four bedrooms, 60% of which will be devoted to individuals and families earning 30-60% of the area’s median income, and 40% following a permanent supportive housing model, providing homes for the previously unhoused along with wrap around services.

The Impact

Over 200 AI/AN tribes are represented in the Denver region, where generations of Native peoples had been relocated throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and have since faced numerous struggles.Motivated to listen and understand the community’s needs, the design team has facilitated an extensive engagement process including meetings, focus groups, and surveys.

Consistent feedback underscores the need to recognize the trauma that comes from centuries of racism and displacement, and from feeling untethered from tribal and family connections, as well as the need to create a place that fosters a sense of community and provides connections to nature.

A Collaborative Team

RATIO is providing architecture and interior design services for the project and is working closely with Mercy Housing; Denver Indian Health and Family Services, who will operate an onsite health clinic; Native American Housing Circle; Amaktoolik Studios, and others to create a place that celebrates the culture and strengthens the wellbeing of this important community.