AURORA | Former city of Aurora employee Jeff Martinez was tapped this month to be president of Denver-based Brothers Redevelopment, a nonprofit housing organization whose clients range from low-income to elderly and disabled.
Martinez, who grew up in Aurora and now lives in Denver, will be overseeing the organization’s 48 employees and $8 million annual budget.
Brothers Redevelopment provides services to residents in 19 communities along the Front Range including affordable housing, a home maintenance repair program for elderly and disabled homeowners, and a housing counseling program.
Martinez will head the organization in January, stepping into a position previously held by Mary Ann Shing, who has been with the organization for more than three decades.
“Stepping into those shoes is not the easiest thing I’m going to do in my life, but I want to do right by her,” Martinez said.
One of his goals as future president of the organization is to launch a housing repair program in northeast Denver, a neighborhood that is currently not being served by Brothers Redevelopment. The program, called “Neighborhood Caretakers,” would be funded through grants and help aging and disabled homeowners by installing wheelchair ramps, and grab-bars, widening doorways and building roll-in showers at no cost. He also hopes to raise enough money to one day be able to launch a similar program in original Aurora.
Brothers Redevelopment has been partnering with volunteers to repaint homes in the original Aurora neighborhood every summer, but his plan is to begin interior repairs to accommodate elderly or disabled residents in that neighborhood.
“That’s where I’m from and the place I care about, and I’d love to see us be able to do something in that area,” he said.
Martinez has deep Aurora roots. He graduated from Aurora Central High School and remembers watching movies at the Fox Theatre and listening to music and fraternizing with classmates at Del Mar Park. He first started working in public relations for the city of Aurora in the early 2000s, promoting the original Aurora area at a time when the Anschutz Medical Campus was simply an idea.
“At that time, I was putting together the very first narrative for redevelopment for the area,” he said. Working for the city of Aurora was one of the highlights of his professional life, he said.
In 2007, he became director of communications and community relations for Brothers Redevelopment and was promoted to vice president in 2010. Working for Brothers Redevelopment has given him another sense of professional fulfillment, he said. Often times the organization is helping homeowners who are on the verge of homelessness or are living in dire conditions.
“It has always worked to serve folks with the biggest needs,” he said.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.