From strict affordable housing requirements to lack of appetite for rent control, growing homelessness, and evictions – it’s no secret that we have a plethora of housing issues to address in Denver. I remember, in 2017, getting on the waitlist for a home through Denver’s income-based buyer’s program. At the time, I was a newly […]
affordable housing
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: The true cause of Colorado’s resort housing crunch can be found in the mirror
Ski towns across the state are facing an out-of-control housing crisis that has driven families away and kept new families from moving to Colorado’s resort counties. It’s easy to blame vacation homes and AirBNBs for the housing crunch, but the real cause is much simpler: There just isn’t enough housing. Why not? Because ski-town residents […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Equity, Health, Housing, News, Politics and Government, Social Services
One apartment building changing hands sheds light on the dire shortage of affordable housing in Arvada
Gerald Flores lived for almost four years in a one-bedroom apartment at 5840 Carr St. in Arvada. But on Jan. 10, he received a notice that he and three other tenants in the 20-unit building had 30 days to move out. The building had been purchased from the family of Flores’ landlord by investors who […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers know where they want to direct federal COVID funding. They just have to figure out how.
After months of discussion, three bipartisan legislative task forces have finalized their recommendations for how Colorado should spend $2.6 billion in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to increase affordable housing, improve Coloradans’ mental health and boost the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic. Now, it’s time for state lawmakers to figure out how they will […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Southeastern Colorado struggles to attract home builders. Now federal stimulus will help add 127 homes.
Between the state and private prisons, the sheriff’s office, schools and a growing cannabis cultivation industry, there are plenty of workers who could make Crowley County their home. Except there aren’t enough places for them to live. And, as the supply of houses and apartments has declined in the rural county east of Pueblo, few […]
Posted inHousing, News, Politics and Government
A 401(k) for homeownership? Colorado housing leaders offer up solutions to affordability problem.
A 401(k)-type savings program for homeownership, more funding for federal housing support and a national incentive program modeled after a Colorado policy are among the proposals by a group focused on easing the state’s housing crisis. The “Housing Affordability Strategy Group,” convened by Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both Democrats, has been […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s taxable home values could skyrocket in 2023
The taxable value of Colorado homes is expected to rise dramatically in 2023, according to the most recent forecast by the General Assembly’s economists – and not just in the white hot Front Range and mountain resort real estate markets. As families flee high housing prices in those areas, they’re pushing up prices on Denver’s […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Outdoors, Outsider
Epic crowds are colliding with epic labor shortages at ski areas
Alex Kaufman thought it would be an amusing website. Something to poke fun at the largest resort operator in North America. So he bought epicliftlines.com for $12 last March, just as Vail Resorts announced a plan to slash the price of its popular Epic Pass by 20%. “I thought ‘Oh, this could become a thing. […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Equity, Growth, Housing, News
Westminster clears controversial Uplands development proposal for “the Farm”
By Luke Zarzecki, The Westminster Window After three long nights of debate and testimony, the Westminster City Council voted 5-2 to approve the controversial plan to convert a large swath of farmland into the 2,350-home Uplands development. Councilors voted at the end of their Monday meeting, which ran until almost 1 a.m. Tuesday and was […]
Posted inHousing, News
Aspen suspends new home construction permits as it drops the hammer in the name of affordability
Aspen’s city council this week stopped issuing not just short-term rental permits, but permits for all home construction as the city struggles with a critical lack of affordable housing and the increasing use of homes by vacationers. A moratorium, passed unanimously by emergency ordinance Wednesday night after two meetings in two days, goes beyond suspending […]