October 2016 Partner Spotlight: Radian
The Urban Land Conservancy celebrates the achievements of its partnerships that create and preserve nonprofit facilities and affordable housing for communities in metro Denver. ULC’s Monthly Partner Spotlight is awarded to partners who demonstrate the value of collaboration, furthering our mission to improve the lives of Metro Denver residents through our real estate investments and community assets.
Congratulations to our October 2016 Partner Spotlight of the Month: Radian!
Located in the heart of the Rino neighborhood sits Laundry on Lawrence, a collaborative workspace housing just over 30 small businesses. The interior of the building is a bit of a maze, but if you search hard enough you’ll eventually find a small space that is home to Radian, Inc. Do not be fooled by Radian’s intimate office, as the nonprofit is currently reshaping Denver neighborhoods.
With a dedicated focus on community-driven neighborhood improvement, Radian provides urban design and architectural services to underserved areas in the Denver metro community. For a nonprofit consisting of an Executive Director and 2-3 part time staff members (depending on the work load), Radian carries a hefty list of projects on its back. Tim Reinen, the Executive Director or Radian, said the company currently has 8-10 projects either under way or in the works.
At the moment, Radian’s primary project is a mobile laundry facility known as the Laundry Truck. In partnership with Denver Homeless Out Loud and Bayaud Enterprises (who donated an old commercial truck to jump start the initiative) Radian is in the process of constructing a mobile laundry station for the homeless to clean their clothes. The idea is simple: convert a retired delivery truck into a mobile unit with cabinetry, surfaces to fold laundry, a utility sink and six industrial strength stacked washer and dryers. In total, Reinen said the build will take about eight weeks. While the Laundry Truck has raised $60,000, they were unsuccessful in raising their $25,000 goal on Kickstarter.
Nevertheless, the project is currently under construction, and expected to begin operations in January. The truck will operate three days per week for eight hours each day. Bayaud and Radian anticipate that over 8,500 loads of laundry will be cleaned during the project’s first year. For many homeless individuals who have little to no access to laundry facilities on a regular basis, this truck will make a world of a difference. The confidence that clean clothes provide are often taken for granted by those with washing machines.
Aside from the Laundry Truck, Radian has its hand in a multitude of other projects, but due to their nature of work, it is difficult to name just one. Reinen explained that aside from Radian’s obvious role as designers and urban planners, he finds himself acting as a strategist, marketer, social media expert and fundraiser. When asked the average length of a project, he said that offering precise timelines are difficult, as Radian is present from the initial idea all the way through implementation.
Radian was founded almost five years ago by Yael Nyholm, with support from ULC and Reinen took over as Executive Director in January 2016. While he has been with the organization for just under one year, Reinen’s background in architecture and humanitarian mindset made him a great fit for the role.
“I wanted to pursue my passion of using architecture as a tool to help communities through humanitarian design,” Reinen said. “And Radian was a really great fit for that.”
In staying true to his mission, Radian aims to problem solve urban gaps that are present in the greater Denver area. These include access to healthy food and creating sustainable and walkable neighborhoods. One of Radian’s many plans includes tackling a food desert in the West Colfax neighborhood. While this is still in the early phases of design, Reinen said that a recent grant from The Denver Foundation will help fund future planning. Through partnership with the West Colfax Business Improvement District and the West Colfax Food Co-op planning board, Radian plans to introduce a cooperative food market to the West Colfax neighborhood. This type of project – providing healthy and sustainable food sources to a food barren area – is a focus of Radian.
“We are ultimately trying to create healthier and [more] sustainable neighborhoods,” Reinen explained. “So we take a multifaceted approach to that, which includes healthy food, access to pedestrian infrastructure, walkability and assisting in the sustainability and formation of local community resources.”
And Reinen ensures that Radian does all of this (and more) with a community driven mentality. This is especially present with the Tiny Home Village for the Homeless that Radian is working on for 2017. While the project’s start date is entirely dependent on funding, Reinen is hoping for a February 2017 kickoff. The project is currently in the community outreach stage, with Reinen hosting community engagement meetings in local neighborhoods in the hopes of learning what local residents truly need and want.
The tiny home village will ideally provide eight tiny homes for the homeless community. Each home will act purely as transitional housing, and is not a permanent solution. Reinen said to think of it more as a place to help homeless individuals get back on their feet. Providing someone with a home – no matter how small- lets them to lock their doors and leave personal belongings behind, making it easier to move about and apply for jobs.
With enough projects to warrant a few more team members, Radian’s future looks positive – for both the company and the Denver community. Reinen seems confident that Radian’s impact will only continue to grow.
“We have a lot of momentum moving forward, and we want to broaden our impact within the Denver metro area where it relates to creating healthier and more sustainable communities.”
We are excited to highlight the incredible work of Radian as our October Partner Spotlight! For more information please go to www.radianresources.org.