For Adams County affordable housing developers, the county’s old Children and Family Services building was in a pretty great location.

“The site lent itself to development because the building is on the main street there,” said Steve Kunshier, director of housing development at Maiker Housing Partners. “Then behind that is the parking lot and just this huge expanse of parking that we are converting. That’s where we’re building additional units.”

Maiker Housing Partners broke ground Aug. 28 on the Caraway, a multi-family, mixed-income affordable housing project. The project, located just north of Highway 36 at the I-25 interchange, will reuse the former Children and Family Services building, converting it and the surrounding lot into affordable housing 44 units with an additional 72 units added on.

This is the first opportunity Maiker, formerly the Adams County Housing Authority, has been able to reuse an existing building.

“With the donation of this building from Adams County, we are able to demonstrate how a public private partnership can be maximized to overcome the barriers facing the development of affordable housing today in Colorado,” said Maiker’s Executive Director Peter LiFari. “Our goal for this project was to draw inspiration from and pay homage to the previous use of the site, celebrating the families, staff and previous public investment. With their input and partnership we’ve accomplished our goal of breathing new life into the site as it will now continue to serve Adams County as a vibrant community of affordable homes, set to serve generations to come.”

Kunshier said crews will break the building down to its frame to make it into an apartment.

“We will strip it down to the shell,” he said. “We really are not reusing anything that’s currently there, aside from the concrete structure itself. It’s very solid. It poses some challenges, with the type of construction. We can’t just put windows anywhere we want them, we can’t move rooms around. The structure is what it is.”

Four new buildings will be constructed just west of the main building, Kunshier said.

The Caraway, scheduled to be completed in 2021, will serve households making between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income — annual income between roughly $22,000 and $51,000

Of the units available, 12 will be reserved for youth aging out of foster care as a way to address the high risk of homelessness these youth face.

“So many families in Adams County are in need of safe and stable housing, making this project so incredibly needed,” said Susan Adams, Chafee Program Coordinator for Adams County Human Services. “And to have a place for foster youth to be proud of - to make them feel special and worthy, it’s just amazing.”

When finished, the Caraway will offer one, two and three-bedroom options with community amenities like a fitness room, playground, dog park and rooftop patio where residents can find respite.

“I know how hard it is to find decent, affordable housing to raise your children in, and to have a project like this means so much to me personally,” said Adams County Commissioner Eva Henry. “We chose Maiker to do this work because they’ve been an incredible partner and they really work to build communities, not just housing.”