Late Plaza del Sol opening may be a plus for some
Maria Sanchez-Traynor
At $500 a month in rent, Marivel Olivares and her husband Juaquin are spending more than half of their combined paychecks for their two-bedroom basement apartment. Some months go by where they can barely afford to feed themselves and their two daughters.
"It's hard," she said. "We work a lot."
Olivares and her family are part of a 34-name waiting list at Plaza del Milagro, an affordable housing complex for families of agricultural workers. She was told it might take quite awhile to find a place, but the late opening of Plaza del Sol, a housing complex for single migrant workers, might just give her family a temporary solution.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday with Jose Gomez, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, was just the beginning for Plaza del Sol. The complex at 2501 Ash Ave., Greeley, which will house up to 145 agricultural workers, probably won't be ready for another three weeks. That's nearly seven months behind the original March completion date.
At first, organizers had planned to rent to single ag workers during the summer planting season. Now, with the complex opening so late, after many migrants have already left the area, they may open it up temporarily to help ease the waiting list at Plaza del Milagro, said Nancy Taylor, manager of Catholic Charities Northern Farm Labor Housing Corp.
Olivares is keeping her fingers crossed. She doesn't like living in a basement and hopes she can find a housing solution she can afford.
With flexible leases at 30 percent of income, Plaza del Milagro and Plaza del Sol are designed around the needs of the workers.
"They deserve the dignity and surroundings that these projects create," said Jim Mauck, president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities, at Plaza del Sol's ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
The ceremony included speeches by representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the city of Greeley and Weld County. The complex was blessed by Bishop Gomez: "This puts love into bricks and mortar and gives to all in need."
Plaza del Sol is running late from problems stemming mainly from its first contractor, Rus-Den Construction.
"Our only regret is that it (the ribbon-cutting ceremony) didn't happen five months ago," Mauck said. "You only need to look around and see it's well worth the wait."
Even with the new complex, Weld still needs to do a lot to house its workers, Mauck said.
"You're just touching the tip of the iceberg if you're talking about farm labor housing in Weld," Mauck said.