A Neighborhood Where You Belong

Gratitude Village Is Building an Inclusive Community from the Ground Up

For too many families in Colorado, the search for housing is more than a challenge—it’s a closed door. Prices keep climbing, availability keeps shrinking, and for Black, Brown, Indigenous, immigrant, disabled, and working-class households, the traditional path to homeownership often feels like it wasn’t built with them in mind. Even so-called “affordable housing” can come with restrictions, stigma or long-term instability. But what if there was another way? What if housing wasn’t just a product of the market—but a platform for equity, connection, and shared power?

At Gratitude Village Colorado, we’re creating that “what if.” We’re building a 56-home, multigenerational cohousing community on the west side of Denver—designed intentionally to be inclusive, climate-smart, and for our subsidized home, permanently affordable. This won’t be just another development with a couple of set-aside units. Our goal is to ensure that 30 to 50 percent of all homes in Gratitude Village are priced and protected for long-term accessibility—not just for the first buyer, but for every family in need that calls our neighborhood home in the future. And we're doing it through tools like a community land trust, deed restrictions, cooperative living and other non-traditional ownership models that put people—not profit—at the center of housing.

So what does that mean, exactly? A community land trust (CLT) separates the ownership of the land from the home itself. The nonprofit (in this case, Gratitude Village Colorado) holds the land in trust, while individual residents buy and own their homes at prices far below market rate. In return, homeowners agree to resale price restrictions that preserve affordability for the next buyer. It's a model that’s been used successfully across the country to prevent displacement, preserve equity, and create housing stability for low- and moderate-income families. Combined with deed restrictions—which legally cap how much a home can appreciate or who it can be sold to—and cooperative units—where the residents own a share in the cooperative corporation, which owns the property—we’re creating a community where affordability isn’t just a goal, it’s assured.

We’re also exploring shared equity ownership, rent-to-own pathways, and long-term leasing options so that people at different financial stages can still access the stability, connection, and opportunity of Gratitude Village. We believe that everyone deserves a place to call home—and not just any home, but one that is climate-resilient, beautifully designed and part of a supportive community. That's why every NetZero home will be built to Passive House standards, making them ultra energy-efficient, comfortable and low in energy use. We’re not cutting corners to keep costs down—we’re creating an elevated model that proves affordability and sustainability don’t have to be opposites.

Just as important as what we’re building is how we’re building it. Gratitude Village isn’t being developed by a corporate entity looking to maximize return. It’s being created by the future residents—who believe in shared stewardship, deep listening and designing for belonging. We’re shaping this community together: families with young kids, single adults, older residents, adults with disabilities and people from diverse cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds. Our common thread is the belief that how we live matters, and that loneliness, disconnection and housing instability are not inevitable—they’re design problems we can solve.

And cohousing is part of that solution. In a cohousing community, residents live in private homes but share common amenities like gardens, a big kitchen and dining hall, co-working spaces, guest suites, a movie room, and gathering places. It’s a neighborhood designed for interaction, care, and cooperation—where you can enjoy privacy and still know your neighbors by name. Studies show that cohousing increases life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health and fosters natural systems of support. For communities that have often been excluded from safe, stable, culturally inclusive neighborhoods, that kind of belonging can be life-changing.

We know that equity doesn’t happen by accident—it happens by design. It shows up in the decisions we make about who gets to buy in, how wealth is built and shared, and what kinds of voices shape the rules. That’s why Gratitude Village is not only focused on affordability, but on accessibility, governance, and long-term inclusion. We’re setting up systems where residents help make decisions, where people with disabilities can fully participate, and where families of all kinds—biological or chosen—can thrive. Our goal is not just to build homes, but to build the kind of community we wish existed in the world.

If this sounds like something you’ve been searching for—even if you didn’t quite have the words for it—we invite you to learn more and join us. Gratitude Village is still in development, and we’re actively welcoming people to become part of this movement. Whether you’re a potential future resident, a housing advocate, a funder, or someone curious about what’s possible when equity meets imagination, we’d love to connect.

On September 18, we’ll be hosting a special public event in Denver with Charles Durrett, the architect and author who coined the term “cohousing” and helped to introduce the model to the U.S. He’ll share how communities around the world are addressing housing, climate, and connection all at once—and how we can do it right here in Colorado.

📍 Gather at Lakeside, Denver
🕕 6:00–8:00 PM, Wednesday, September 18
🎟️ Tickets: gratitudevillageco.com/store-buy-tickets-charles-durrett-denver

We believe the future of housing is inclusive, joyful and built for belonging. We’re not waiting for someone else to create it—we’re building it now. And we’d love for you to be part of it.