Reporter
When it comes to attempting to solve Colorado’s housing crisis, any success story seems worth noting.
So it was fun to learn about a company that has overcome challenges to start getting work done.
Ethan Deffenbaugh and Nick Lemmer own Higher Purpose Homes, a startup construction company that builds houses modeled on a computer and pre-fabricated in a warehouse on the outskirts of Durango.
The idea is to get homes built more quickly, to get more in the market, to increase affordability.
In February, they believed they were on the verge of winning an $8 million grant from the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade to go toward buying land, building a warehouse and starting to chip away at the housing crisis by constructing high-quality homes faster and more efficiently.
Their plan was innovative. Homes could be designed and built with data sent to a machine Lemmer created called a cut station, which pushes lumber into the correct position to create walls, floors and roofs. Workers would then assemble the pisces using a jig designed by Lemmer. The homes could be outfitted with the customer’s chosen finishes and wrapped for transport — all in six to eight weeks.
But they ended up not getting the grant and their future was uncertain. Only for a few days, though.
Because a couple in Durango heard about them after a story appeared in The Colorado Sun and hired them to build a 2,000-square-foot ranch house with three bedrooms and two baths to place on their property with views of the La Plata Mountains.
The couple hired Durango architect Dean Brookie to design the home. Then Higher Purpose got to work framing the shell with materials costing around $21 per square foot and labor in the range of $16.50 a square foot.
Lemmer says the house is rectangular, with giant windows framing soaring views. “It’s got some pretty big decks on there, and some beautiful covered porch areas,” he adds, and the customers seem more than satisfied. They prefer not to be named but in an interview said Lemmer and Deffenbauh’s “work ethic, punctuality, creativity, problem-solving and flexibility provided a quality product in an amazingly short period of time.”
Outside of excavating the site and building a foundation — jobs done by Lazy K dirt work company and Rosso Concrete Company, respectively — that time period was about a month from start to finish. Lemmer says they built the walls over two weeks in the factory, and constructed the roof and floors over one week at the site. “It took couple of days for the crane to come in and lift the roof off of the floor, put the walls up and put the roof back,” he added, “and we had a crew of three: me, Deffenbaugh and our building expert, who’s been a framer for over 15 years now. And then the customer was out there helping, because he was really excited to see it happen.”
As for future projects, they’re currently in talks to prefab a house for a customer in Pueblo. Then they’d like to expand by working with builders and developers who have their own framing crews.
“One of the biggest things right now is finding labor, and so by doing a lot of the labor in a factory setting, we can kind of alleviate the need for the on-site labor,” Lemmer says. “But let’s say a developer has enough labor to frame out a couple houses in a year. By using our method, they should be able to greatly expand that.”
“The concept we’re doing here is we are providing a product that is the same as what everybody’s used to, but eliminating the need for the skilled labor on-site and greatly reducing the time that it takes to get a house framed in,” he adds. “So for developers and builders out there who are struggling to find framing crews and get jobs done, we can provide a majority of the heavy lifting so that framing crews can do more for them and they can rely less on skilled labor to make all of that happen.”
That could help Colorado’s lagging construction market, which some say is slowing in part because there are too few workers.
This week’s report comes from Colorado Sun rural reporter Tracy Ross. If you enjoy her monthly updates on the more rural parts of the state, let her know at tracy@coloradosun.com
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ Colorado AG steps into battle over a fence that’s pitted San Luis Valley locals against a billionaire. Attorney General Phil Weiser visited the small town of San Luis to meet with local residents who are trying to stop construction of the wire-grid fence. >> Read story
➔ Southern Ute Indian Tribe sues Colorado governor, gaming division over sports betting. Southern Ute Indian Tribe calls actions by Gov. Jared Polis and the Division of Gaming “bad faith” and “anti-sovereign,” alleging the state seeks to freeze them from the online sports betting market. >> Read story
➔ The Colorado Sun discusses insurance costs, climate change and weather events. Environmental reporter Michael Booth spoke with a panel of experts about how wildfires, hail floods and more are costing Coloradans billions in higher insurance rates. >> Watch
➔ Slaughterhouse ban on Denver ballot targets one 70-year-old business. An animal rights group got a slaughterhouse ban on the November ballot. The head of the state livestock association wants activists to stop messing with agriculture. >> Read story
➔ Xcel should be ordered to get moving on home solar hookups, state regulators and industry groups say. Colorado’s largest utility promised eight months ago to set fees, deadlines, procedures and a connection timeline but has not delivered. >> Read story
➔ Despite 70% opt-out rate, Keep Colorado Wild Passes program delivers more revenue than forecast. Adding a $29 fee to license plate bills sent almost $41 million to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, plus money for avalanche forecasting and search and rescue groups. >> Read story
Other working bits
➔ $311 million paid as Colorado workers tap into state’s paid family leave. Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program paid out more than $311 million to fill 62,632 claims in the first half of 2024, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The program began paying benefits in January but started a year earlier, as eligible workers — and their employers — contributed a portion of their paycheck to the FAMLI insurance fund. By the end of 2023, the fund had $775 million. The benefits are meant to provide a partial paycheck for workers to care for a new child or a serious family health issue. Some stats, as of July 1:
>> News release; Earlier story
HELP US: Did you benefit from the state’s new family leave program or have employees who did? Tell us more by emailing tamara@coloradosun.com
➔ Colorado home sales sink as active listings increase. June numbers are in and according to the Colorado Association of Realtors called it a “stalemate” between buyers and sellers as the number of houses sold fell 11.6% statewide and median sales price edged up 3.1% to $599,000 compared to a year ago, which is still near all-time highs. The number of houses for sale, or active listings, rose 19% with more than 18,373 for sale last month. “Buying conditions have collapsed to levels seen only twice since 1960. Those years were 1974 and 1980, per Game of Trades reporting. We have also seen multifamily default numbers not seen in a decade,” Patrick Muldoon, a Realtor in the Colorado Springs-area, said in a news release. “Are we entering a corrective phase? It appears many indicators are pointing in that direction.” In metro Denver, home sales fell 8.2% and the median sales price rose 1.1% to $637,000 from a year ago. >> See CAR data: Colorado, Metro Denver
➔ More federal money for Colorado’s apprenticeship program. The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $839,094 “to expand, modernize and diversify” Colorado’s Registered Apprenticeship program, which is overseen by the state’s Department of Labor and Employment. Colorado was one of 46 states to receive a portion of the $39 million in grants to support apprenticeships. >> Awards by state
Section by Tamara Chuang | Business/Technology Reporter
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