Living Wisdom Village is the Long-Awaited, New Home for Older Adults in Crestone

By Rach Angard, Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Siguiente50

Crestone is a small town in a small county in Southern Colorado. It is known for its beautiful peaks surrounding the town and houses a diverse range of spiritual centers. It is a desirable, remote town that is home to almost 150 individuals; however, rental costs have increased, and investors have purchased homes to turn into Airbnb rentals. This is making it more and more difficult for anyone to remain in Crestone, but particularly older adults who live on lower or fixed incomes.

But with the opening of Living Wisdom Village, a project of Crestone Peak Community Housing, this housing shortage is starting to change.

Living Wisdom Village is the first senior living community in Crestone, a town that, like much of America, is aging rapidly. This is the first local response to the housing needs of the aging population, making this a milestone success for the area. There are 20 affordable housing units for older adults who are living independently, which officially opened its doors on November 1^st, 2025 – and it’s almost at full capacity. Now, older adults have an affordable place to live on their own instead of “living in a van or in somebody’s second bedroom,” said CPCH’s board chair, Kirsten Schreiber, “and they are so grateful”. Of course, this victory was hard won; very hard won.

The idea for this independent housing facility began back in 2013. For the next ten years, they faced numerous setbacks: lack of funding, loss of funding, departure of architects, the geographical difficulties of being so remote, finding a construction company who was even willing to travel to such a rural part of the state.

Next50 was honored to get involved with this work in 2020, in the midst of their long journey to building this housing community. Grant funding allowed them to face these myriad roadblocks head-on and find new solutions. With Next50’s support, they were able to finalize construction contracts and draft rental agreements and get approved for occupancy. The members of Crestone Peak Community Housing were able to continue fighting for their vision.

That fight paid off when they finally broke ground in June of 2024, some ten years later.

When they opened the doors to Living Wisdom Village this past November, Community Impact Officer Susan Hill was there to celebrate the long-awaited moment. “The ribbon cutting was an absolutely joyous occasion,” she said. “This project is an example of a community coming together to create a local solution to a local need. The determination of the planning group to keep their focus on the outcome through so many setbacks was inspirational.”

When CPHC jumped their final setback, “it was like a ton of bricks fell off of me,” Schreiber said. “I didn’t even know how much weight I had been carrying. So the relief was tremendous.” And the relief for residents was equally tremendous: they now had a home they could call their own. A home they could afford. A home in their chosen community among the friends and family and places they love.

CPHC’s project, Living Wisdom Village, gives older adults a new roadmap to economic wellbeing. Most of the units are priced below market rate averaging a little more than $500 a month for income qualified older adults, and all of the units are solar powered, keeping rent and utility bills down. Being able to stay in Crestone also prevents older adults from needing to move to larger cities with more housing stock; larger cities that are not just more expensive but are worlds away from the lives they have come to lead.

Living Wisdom Village isn’t just a home for older adults in Crestone now. It is a promise for the older adults to come. It is a place for keeping a community connected. It is a way of leaning into the future. “I believe that every community needs our elders,” Schreiber told me. “And it would be a tremendous loss for them to leave.” And now, they don’t have to.