2022 was one for the history books for The Fax Partnership! At long last we achieved our goal to acquire real estate on the East Colfax corridor for the purpose of affordable housing development. In September 2022, The Fax purchased the Westerner and Sand & Sage motels – two contiguous motels located at the 8500 block of East Colfax. This accomplishment was the culmination of many years of work and after many previous attempts.
The $4.5M motel acquisition was realized with the support of three nonprofit lenders. The lenders provided the capital to close on the acquisition with the knowledge that public funders were committed to the project. Following the transaction close, both the City and County of Denver and State of Colorado awarded the project funding, as did Gates Community Foundation. Another component of the deal is a unique partnership between The Fax and Volunteers of America of Colorado, which will be leasing the motels from The Fax in September 2023 for operating their homeless family housing program. The many partners made the acquisition possible and underscores the complexity of affordable housing development and preservation. Without the collective vision of these partners, The Fax would have been unsuccessful in our acquisition and the East Colfax community would have lost its opportunity to achieve greater housing affordability. We are deeply grateful to all the partners that made this possible.
Yet, the motel acquisition was not the only accomplishment of The Fax, just the most expensive! The organization also hosted four health and resource fairs in 2022 that served over 700 people. Shoes, vaccines, food and resources were provided at the four events. The Fax also hosted tax clinics in the early part of 2022 that helped local residents receive $$53,347 in tax savings.
In 2022, The Fax business team continued supporting East Colfax businesses. This included trainings and a specific partnership with the Denver Police Department to help make our business community safer. The Fax also launched, in partnership with the East Colfax community, the East Colfax Cultural District. This designation is an act of claiming the East Colfax corridor for those who currently work and live in the community and of lifting up and celebrating the many cultures that make up East Colfax. 2022 was just the start of this important community project, with many exciting initiatives to come, to recognize and preserve East Colfax as the diverse, special place that it is and, we hope, forever will be.
Here’s to many more years like 2022 for The Fax Partnership,
~ Monica Martinez
Our 2021 Annual Report
Highlights of Major Accomplishments
- The Fax Partnership welcomed two new staff to the team: Mariana Ledezma-Amorosi and Amlaku B. Eshetie.
- Increased to eight languages represented in-house: Amharic, Spanish, Wolof, French, Swahili, Oromo, Burmese, and English
- Helped to administer 288 COVID-19 vaccines through on-site clinics.
- The Fax distributed over 8,400 pounds of food to 231 residents under our new focus area of food availability. And through a partnership with Aurora Interfaith Alliance, we distributed an additional 4,700 pounds of food.
- A total of 126 loan and grant applications were submitted, resulting in $435,651 of grants to support East Colfax business owners.
- Awarded $9,300 to 22 East Colfax residents through the third round of our mini-grant program, Fax Aid.
- Launched Impact East Colfax along with The Fax organizational partner Urban Land Conservancy (ULC): two community-led steering committees of residents in Aurora and Denver to guide the redevelopment of properties acquired.
Our 2020 Annual Report
2020 Major Accomplisments
→ Expanded Fax team to six staff members who speak six languages
→ Launched Fax Aid program and awarded over $56,000 to community members in need
→ Conducted a residential survey with 369 responses that is instrumental in guiding our work
→ Formed two major partnerships to strengthen and support the East Colfax community and acquire property on corridor with other nonprofit organizations
→ Provided 65 businesses with technical support and assisted businesses to receive over $269,000 in Paycheck Protection Protection (PPP), state and city grants
Our 2019 Annual Report
2019 Needs Assessment Findings
- Expressed interest in owning space 75%
- Identified financial assistance as a need 67%
- Interested in business counseling 40%
- Currently rent 65%
Our 2018 Annual Report
What else did the Fax do in 2018?
» Hired summer graduate student who drafted a Community Development Corporation study
» Promoted BRT to Aurora City government, resulted in City Council BRT presentation
» Served on Bus Rapid Transit Community Task Force
» Served on East Area Plan Steering Committee monthly meetings
» Applied to JP Morgan Chase Advancing Cities grant with a nonprofit cohort
» Served on Upper Montclair Stormwater Vision Implementation Team
