The Fourth Quarter Apartments

What do National Football league (NFL) players, veterans and Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock have in common? The answer is The Fourth Quarter - a 36-unit apartment complex in Denver, CO which will house homeless veterans.

Side of new building

The Fourth Quarter is the visionary product of two former NFL players: William "Bo" Matthews and Claudie Minor, Jr. Matthews is a former pro football running back who played for NFL teams -- the San Diego Chargers and the New York Giants. He also played college football at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Claudie Minor is a community organizer and former tackle for the Denver Broncos, where he played nine seasons.

On February 23, 2011, Fourth Quarter Partners (Matthews and Minor) held a ribbon ceremony for the Fourth Quarter apartments, as doors were formally opened for housing veterans. As stated by "Bo" Matthews: "The Fourth Quarter apartments' development is part of a vision to house homeless veterans and begin to build an economic engine that includes permanent housing, job training and employment solutions. There are members of our community who have served our country and who now need our help to get back on track. We want to be there for them, just as they were there for our country."

People gather to celebrate at ceremony

Street corner view of people leaving building

Why Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock? In his remarks at the ribbon cutting ceremony, Denver Mayor Guillermo "Bill" Vidal evoked Star Trek when he praised Matthews' and Minor's leadership "to boldly go where no man has gone before".  This development required great community buy-in and support, resources, and partnership. Matthews and Minor made this all happen. Partners in this development include: Denver Road Home Program, Colorado Housing Finance Agency, Key Bank, the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD provided funding to the Colorado Division of Housing (CDOH). CDOH is using this funding to provide housing assistance to homeless veterans who will live in 25 of the units. The Bo Matthews Center for Excellence will provide job skills, counseling and training programs for The Fourth Quarter residents.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Claudie Minor addressed the "fourth quarter" philosophy in football - it is the time of the game when players believe winning is still possible. It is the time of the game for players to achieve their final objective. And this is the goal of The Fourth Quarter apartments—to end homelessness for veterans and to assist veterans in achieving their potential.

Content Archived: October 24, 2013