Expanding its work to an adjacent neighborhood, East Liberty Development, Inc. is seeking to build eight affordable housing units in Larimer.
ELDI held a public meeting March 5 with the Larimer Consensus Group to present updated plans and talk with people in the community.
Six of the properties will be available to area residents making 80% or below of the area’s median income, while two will be available to those making 50% or less of the neighborhood’s AMI. Spread out on parcels on Auburn, Mayflower and Meadow streets, the homes will consist of six new builds and two extensive rehabilitations. One of the rehabbed homes on Auburn Street will be fully ADA accessible.
Ted Melnyk, ELDI board chair, fielded questions from neighbors about the planned homes and highlighted his family’s ties to the Larimer. A representative of Main + Elm Development Co. described the homes’ design. Plans call for semi-attached townhomes with dedicated parking pads along rear alleyways such as Stoebner Way.
ELDI said funding would likely be secured in the second quarter of this year and anticipates construction in the second half of 2026, with the homes hitting the market in 2027.
The project is part of a $1.2 million Federal Home Loan Bank project in the East End. ELDI has used FHLB funding for other projects, including the renovation of affordable housing in East Liberty and Garfield. The organization says grant money has helped defray the “complex funding puzzle” of such projects.
Larimer has suffered from disinvestment in recent decades, losing landmarks such as the Our Lady Help of Christians church in the process. However, the neighborhood has also seen a resurgence in home construction that spared a school building from demolition, and institutions such as Steel City Squash, where ELDI held its March meeting, now call Larimer home.
