The final $6 million from the Boulder County Wildfire Fund is not sitting in an account or getting carved into tiny checks. Community Foundation Boulder County is steering the remaining Marshall Fire donations into three affordable housing projects that will prioritize fire survivors: an Impact Development Fund single-family infill program, a Pennrose senior apartment complex in downtown Superior and a Flatirons Habitat for Humanity modular build in Louisville. Foundation leaders say it is a deliberate move to keep teachers, service workers and other longtime residents from being priced out of the communities they helped build.
According to Community Foundation Boulder County, the last $6 million in grants from the Boulder County Wildfire Fund will be split among Impact Development Fund, Pennrose and Flatirons Habitat for Humanity. The fund was created after the Dec. 30, 2021 Marshall Fire, and the foundation says Marshall Fire survivors will be prioritized in application processes, a point also highlighted by CBS News Colorado. “Recovery from the Marshall Fire is far from over yet,” CFBC CEO Tatiana Hernandez said in the release.
Single‑family infill for middle‑income buyers
Impact Development Fund will receive $2.5 million to run a Single‑Family Acquisition Rehab (SFAR) program through its construction arm, Impact Development Builders, with a goal of delivering completed single‑family homes made affordable through creative financing. According to Impact Development Fund, the group has already acquired eight infill lots in Superior and plans to begin development in 2026, with outreach specifically targeted to Marshall Fire survivors. The program is designed for households roughly at or slightly above area‑median incomes, aiming to fill the gap between market‑rate and deeply subsidized housing.
Senior apartments planned for downtown Superior
Pennrose has been awarded $500,000 to support Kite Route Crossing, a 50‑unit, income‑ and rent‑restricted community for residents 55 and older at 2101 Old Rail Way in Superior. As outlined by Pennrose, the development will feature mostly one‑bedroom units, incorporate resilience measures and is expected to be completed in 2027. The project will also carry a preference for households displaced or otherwise impacted by the Marshall Fire.
Ten modular homes to go up in Louisville
Flatirons Habitat for Humanity will receive $3 million to partially fund a roughly $6 million project to build ten permanently affordable homes in Louisville using the BoulderMOD modular‑home facility, the foundation said. The Community Foundation release notes that the homes are intended for households earning between about 30% and 80% of area median income and that $1 million of the award is structured as a community match to attract additional local funding. The foundation later corrected the release to clarify that the Louisville project will prioritize Marshall Fire survivors but is not located inside the formal Marshall Fire burn area.
Recovery support program continues
These bricks‑and‑mortar investments sit alongside a unified Recovery Support Program that pulls together earlier rebuild, housing support and unmet‑needs grants into a single system. As detailed by Boulder County, applications now flow through one intake portal that opened Feb. 1. Through at least the summer of 2027, or until the money runs out, the program is set to offer rental and mortgage assistance, basic‑needs support and smoke‑and‑ash property restoration. Impact Development Fund is administering the application process for the foundation.
Fundraising and the wider picture
The Boulder County Wildfire Fund pulled in more than $43 million from roughly 82,000 donors after the 2021 blaze, and most of that money has now been granted, according to CBS News Colorado. Local housing advocates have warned for years that without targeted affordable supply, the area risks losing essential workers to rising housing costs, a gap these projects are intended to narrow.
Marshall Fire survivors who want to find out whether they qualify for units or assistance can review program guidelines and apply through Impact Development Fund or by emailing [email protected]. ImpactDF also operates a Disaster Recovery hotline at (970) 744‑4835 for questions about eligibility and documentation.
