Denver Low-Income Housing Fund Will Expand Into Surrounding Communities
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLO. (CBS4) - An affordable housing fund aimed at providing homes near transit hubs for lower-income residents will expand into the seven-county metro area in the next decade.
The $24 million fund, announced Tuesday, will be used primarily to acquire properties and finance loans for developers that build affordable homes along transit corridors in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
It's a joint partnership among Denver, surrounding municipalities and housing development companies.
"Affordable housing is a critical issue not just for the city, but for our entire metro area," Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. He said the fund would ensure that "low- and moderate-income families benefit from the build-out of our mass transit system."
Called the Denver Regional TOD Fund, its goal is to create 2,000 affordable homes near transit by 2024. For-sale homes will be available to families earning below 95 percent of the area's median income. Rental homes will serve families earning below 60 percent, or $46,000 for a family of four, the city said. Typical monthly rents will range from $400 to $1,000, depending on unit size and household income -- much lower than average rents in Denver.
The fund builds on a 2010 plan with roughly $15 in funding that has added 570 affordable homes in Denver near transit hubs like Yale and Evans stations to the south, and stations closer to downtown at 38th Avenue and Blake Street, and 40th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
The fund will now begin building affordable housing within a half-mile of the light and commuter rail and a quarter-mile of high-frequency bus routes.
"Low-income families in this region spend, on average, 60 percent of their gross income on the combined cost of transportation and housing," said Brad Weining of Enterprise Community Partners, one of the groups partnering with municipalities. "If you let that sink in, that does leave much left for anything else."
Emphasizing access to transportation is key, said Alison George, the deputy director of the Colorado Division of Housing.
"What happened when we lose mobility?" she said. "Choices are lost and opportunities are diminished. In Colorado, there is just one affordable home for every two families that need affordable housing."