Clifton Community Resource Campus
Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF) is pleased to announce its latest New Market Tax Credit project in Clifton, CO to help provide desperately needed childcare and early childhood education (ECE) services to the Mesa County area. Mesa County is considered a childcare desert and currently has only enough licensed childcare providers to serve 20% of children ages 0-5. Because options are limited, many working parents have issues finding affordable, reliable, and enriching childcare. In fact, a 2019 survey of County residents confirmed how much childcare can affect workers’ productivity as 71% of employers reported high absenteeism and 68% experienced high turnover - both due to lack of childcare.
The new Clifton Community Resource Campus (CCRC) aims to address this childcare and ECE services shortage and provide other community amenities to its residents. The campus will be located on a 20-acre lot and include a 22,690 square foot ECE center, an 11,944 square foot ECE training hub, and an 11,970 square foot gymnasium/community hall to allow for family-friendly, safe recreation and community events. The ECE Center will provide 154 early childhood education seats and create 44 jobs. The ECE training hub will help individuals obtain the qualifications and certifications needed in early childhood education. The training hub will establish 15 jobs and help generate a pipeline of licensed ECE childhood educators for years to come. The gymnasium/community hall was combined with the ECE services as the community felt the parks were not safe and they needed an area for kids to recreate. It is anticipated the gymnasium/community hall will also host 95-125 exciting community events each year including concerts, holiday celebrations, sporting events, school dances, and more. Hence, the CCRC achieves the goal of helping working parents have access to needed childcare and providing a place for the community to gather and enjoy for generations.
Additionally, there will be a 25,000 square foot building constructed for the new Clifton library next to the CCRC. While the library was not part of the NMTC project, this will be made possible as an impact of the NMTC financing, allowing the County to use other funds to complete the library.
CEF is honored to be a partner in this project and feels the CCRC exemplifies how NMTC projects can impact a community through job creation, reinvigorating the community, and producing a positive outcome for underserved or low-income areas. CEF can’t wait to see this new addition to the Clifton community open in 2024!
To learn more, please visit: https://www.mesacounty.us/community-halls-project/pages/clifton/
To learn more about CEF New Market Tax Credit projects, please visit: https://coloradoenterprisefund.org/New-Market-Tax-Credit