Castle Rock "Citizen of Year" helps transform hotel into housing for adults with disabilities

A Castle Rock entrepreneur has been named "Citizen of the Year" by the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce. It is in part for his work to help turn a hotel into housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"I found out when they announced by name at the banquet" said Steve Peterson, owner of Christian Brothers Automotive in Castle Rock and Lone Tree.

Peterson never expected to be Castle Rock's citizen of the year.

"I feel like I received the award for a lot of people that give to this community," Peterson said. "I just happened to be fortunate enough to be the one that got recognized."

In the last decade, Peterson has served on the Public Works Commission, volunteered with various nonprofits and used his auto shops to help people.

"Every year, we do an oil change event where we provide free oil changes and address safety needs on the cars of people in the community that need our help," Peterson said.

The shops have also provided given single, widowed and military moms free auto service.

"It really gives us joy," Peterson said. "It's great to have a successful business, which we have here and in Lone Tree. But it's neat to be able to use that as a foundation to impact the community and help those that live here."

In October, Steve and 40 of his employees helped nonprofit Wellspring Community demolish a Castle Rock hotel.

"We were gifted a hotel from the county, it was the La Quinta. We are transforming that into the Unity on Park, which is gonna be an integrated living residential facility," said Allen Lundberg, development officer for Wellspring Community.

"We got to come in and help them with a lot of the demolition, get it ready for doing the reconstruction to get that facility ready for some of the residents," Peterson said.

The hotel is being transformed into housing for adults with disabilities, as well as some units which will be affordable housing.

"I hope that I do get to live there," said Damon Bunch, development associate and participant at Wellspring.

It's an opportunity 24-year-old Bunch never thought he'd get.

"I never expected a day in my life to be moving into my own apartment. I always thought I'd be living with my parents for the rest of my life. Because being an adult with special needs and IDD, I never thought that that'd be something in my wheelhouse," Bunch explained.

Located next door to Wellspring in Castle Rock, adults living at the Unity will be able to walk to Wellspring's day program, the collective coffee shop, and downtown Castle Rock.

Lundberg says there are 20,000 adults with intellectual disabilities in the metro area living with caregivers over 65. The Unity on Park will give 20 of those adults the gift of independence.

"It just is going to create a community that most of these adults have never had, and it's gonna be life changing, not only for these adults but for their families," Lundberg said.

"It just was an answered prayer from God. Saying like it's time to close that chapter of your life into a new chapter and become that person that you always wanted to become," Bunch said.

Wellspring hopes the first residents of The Unity on Park will move in this fall.  

For Peterson, helping answer the community's prayers is what being a good citizen is all about.

"All you have to do is get involved and that impact is easy to have," Peterson said.