Affordable housing

Gazette editorial board: Colorado’s green agenda is pricing out homeowners

denvergazette.com, Approved, Commentary, State / / , , , , , , , ,

Colorado’s governor and Legislature may claim they want more affordable housing — but they aren’t about to let it stand in the way of their headlong rush toward green energy. Their zero-emissions-at-any-cost dogma seems to trump all other policy priorities.

Which helps explain why the state’s Energy Code Board is poised to impose extreme energy standards — even more stringent than those already in effect — on new home construction. The pending rules would turn the screws on wide-ranging aspects of the building code — and are projected to add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home in Colorado.

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Condo reform bill becomes law–after years of lawsuits, delays and rising insurance costs

Colorado Politics, Approved, State / / , , , , ,

Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed the first major bill of his administration that sponsors hope would unclog the state’s longstanding logjam regarding the construction of affordable, middle-market multi-family housing, specifically condos and townhomes, and, thereby directly promote home ownership.

Past efforts by the governor had mostly focused on rental housing and zoning. 

This year, House Bill 1272 aims to jumpstart the affordable condo market, which backers say has died off in Colorado due to “construction defects” litigation.

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Denver rent down $65, but rising costs leave renters struggling

Denverite, Approved, Local / / , , , , ,

When Cassie Welch Rubin moved to Denver in 2022, she paid $1,400 a month for a bug-infested, rundown studio apartment in University Hills, a neighborhood she hated. To get to her job, she took a two-hour bus ride each way.

This year, Rubin left her University Hills studio for a one-bedroom in Capitol Hill. She’s still paying $1,400 – but for a larger place in a central Denver neighborhood.

Denver rent down $65, but rising costs leave renters struggling Read More »

“YIGBY” bill to let churches build housing on their land fails without Senate support

Colorado Politics, Approved, State / / , , , , , , , , ,

The campaign known as “YIGBY” – “Yes in God’s Backyard” – to allow churches, school districts, colleges, and universities to build affordable housing on their land failed in the waning days of the Colorado legislative session. 

House Bill 1169 would have required local governments to allow residential development on land owned by those institutions.

The bill has sat in the state Senate, awaiting debate, since it cleared the Senate’s Local Government and Housing Committee on March 27.

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Treta: Denver’s broken permitting system is driving up housing costs—and it’s time to fix it

Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories / / , , , , ,

I’ve been designing and building homes in Denver for 28 years. I pulled my first permit in 1997—for a small room addition on a house. It took one day. One.

That kind of efficiency used to be the norm. Permitting was straightforward, business-friendly, and a basic example of how local government should work. But over the past two decades, I’ve watched the city’s permit approval process become increasingly bloated, inefficient, and damaging—not just to builders like me, but to every Denverite who rents or buys a home.

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HB25-1169 would strip local control, override zoning to force housing on church and school property

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories / / , , ,

A bill making its way through the Colorado legislature—HB 25-1169, the “Faith and Education Land Use” bill—is under growing scrutiny from local officials, school communities, and everyday Coloradans who see it as a sweeping override of local zoning authority.

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$3.2M Denver 17th Street tower deal aims to create 750 downtown apartments

kdvr.com, Approved, Local / / ,

A block in downtown Denver is converting from offices into apartment spaces after a real estate company bought two towers on 17th Street.

The Luzzatto Company, a national real estate firm, purchased 621 and 633 17th St. at the start of April for $3.2 million, hoping to revitalize downtown with the over 973,000 square feet of space in the heart of Denver.

$3.2M Denver 17th Street tower deal aims to create 750 downtown apartments Read More »