Aries Duplex Progress Report

Back in August 2020, we were excited to share with you all that we had begun the construction process on our first homes in Nampa.

Read our August blog on Aries here: “Landmark Zero Energy Ready Affordable Housing Project Underway By indieDwell and LEAP Housing Solutions in Nampa.”

We have made great progress since we shared the news with you. Today, we are happy to announce that we are working on the finishing touches before the duplex’s first residents move in.

It has been a journey for our team to deliver affordable housing in the midst of a pandemic, but we are proud of our housing development team and their continued innovation and patience to see these new homes through the process.

The change from the rendering (photo on the left) to how Aries looks today (photo on the right).

As you see in the pictures above, we needed to make adjustments in our planning and implementation in order to realize the completion of the duplex. We worked with neighbors to create a home that matched the neighboring homes and still deliver the affordable homes that are needed in Nampa.

Along with the supportive citizens of Nampa, the Aries homes were made possible through our partnerships with indieDwell (builders), Idaho Housing and Finance Association (funding) as well as the support of the City of Nampa who encouraged the development of affordable housing in their community.

Creating affordable housing can be complex, but we are lucky to have great relationships with like-minded organizations. As we like to say, solving the affordable housing crisis in the Treasure Valley is a puzzle, and it will take all of us in the community to contribute our individual puzzle pieces so we can realize solutions for the communities we hold dear to our heart.

As we near the completion of Aries, we are always looking for folks out in the community who want to use their puzzle piece, whether that is land, donations or connecting us with folks. If you or someone you know has land available and would like to partner with us to create affordable housing, send us a message at info@leapcharities.org or give us a call at (208) 391-2823.

If you’re not quite sure what puzzle piece you have to offer to make your impact on our community’s housing affordability, send us a message today and let’s chat!

We hope you all are staying safe. Let’s continue to build hope together, no matter the barrier.

Landmark Zero Energy Ready Affordable Housing Project Underway By indieDwell and LEAP Housing Solutions in Nampa

Nampa, Idaho --​ LEAP Housing Solutions and local builder, indieDwell, will be placing six shipping containers via crane on August 26, 2020 at 1pm to kick off the landmark development of an affordable housing duplex using upcycled containers in Nampa. (Complete Address: 2202 Aries Dr, Nampa ID 83651)

The project on Aries Drive in Nampa will bring two homes to the community serving households at or below 50 percent area median income, or $40,400 for a family of five. These two 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom homes will be the first homes brought to Nampa and Canyon County by LEAP, with more planned to be completed in the future.
LEAP Housing Solutions is transforming a vacant, underutilized lot into an attractive modern duplex made of indieDwell shipping container homes. The homes are anticipated to be ready for occupancy in fall 2020.
“Utilizing vacant lots is one of the more efficient opportunities to provide needed affordable housing to the community that can stay affordable in the long run,” LEAP Founder and Executive Director, Bart Cochran said. “Urban infill and affordable housing are priorities of the City of Nampa as well as LEAP, which led to the culmination of the Aries project.”

This development is part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP3), which through Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated funding to Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA). The funding is to “rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes.” (HUD)

This urban infill project has been made possible through the forward-leaning partnerships LEAP Housing Solutions have with indieDwell, Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA), supportive citizenry and the City of Nampa.
“It’s important to note that this project wouldn’t have been possible without citizen input,” Cochran said. “The voice of the people actually influenced the final design of the project. They requested that we make modifications to the parking structures to better fit the neighborhood. We see ourselves (LEAP) as a long term neighbor so it is important to ensure that projects are compatible with the community.”

The Aries project will be LEAP’s third completed development in the Treasure Valley, following the completion of ​Windy Court 1 and 2​ in NW Boise. LEAP is continuing to work with partner organizations and private landowners to identify and obtain land for the purposes of developing affordable housing.

LEAP Housing Solutions​ is a Boise-based nonprofit working to develop and preserve affordable housing while providing empowering services that lead to greater housing stability in the Treasure Valley.

LEAP Nearing Completion on First Affordable Housing Project in Nampa

We are well underway with our very first affordable housing project in Canyon County!

The project will bring two homes to the Nampa area serving households at or below 50 percent area median income.

If it is anything like our first project, we could see more than 14 people housed in these two 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom homes. 

Like our previous developments, this project has been made possible through the forward-leaning partnerships we have with indieDwell and the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA).

We are transforming a vacant, blighted lot into an attractive modern duplex made of indieDwell shipping container homes. We received funding from IHFA for this project, and anticipate the move-in date to be sometime this summer.

Stay tuned for the date that we begin accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis.

With the Aries and Windy Court 2 projects being completed this summer, we will be providing 6 new units of affordable rentals to the Treasure Valley community. Want to learn more about Windy Court 2? Check out last week’s blog post!

This development is part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP3), which provides grants to every state, certain local communities, and other organizations. The grants are to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes. (HUD)

To learn more about how we build hope with housing, visit our LEAP homes page on the website.