By Kathleen McCormick

The Urban Land Institute was well -represented at “Bridging the Gap: A Solutions Forum on Housing,” presented by Denver’s Office of Economic Development on May 19, 2016 at the University of Denver.

Denver has committed $150 million for affordable housing over the next 10 years. The forum presented some ideas and invited discussion among architects, urban planners, public officials, nonprofit organizations, housing activists, and others about closing the gap on critically needed affordable and workforce housing to promote community stability and economic growth.

As of March 2016, Denver home values were growing at a rate of 16 percent annually, outpacing value in other double-digit cities like San Francisco and Portland, according to Zillow. In Q1 2016, the median home value in the Denver metro area was $333,500. But the flip side of home appreciation due to Denver’s thriving economy, strong job growth, and desirability is lack of affordable and workforce housing , especially given that housing costs that have outpaced incomes. Rents have gone up 50 percent since 2010, to an average of $1,500 for a two-bedroom apartment. Denver’s rapid rise in housing prices, along with 83,000 new residents since 2010, a 13.8 percent growth in population, is causing doubling up in downtown apartments and displacement of longtime residents in many neighborhoods (check out Denver’s recently released gentrification study at denvergov.org/oed).

Over a third of the 282,000 households in Denver are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent (and many over 50 percent) of their gross monthly income on housing costs, leaving less for food, transportation, healthcare, education, and other expenses. Denver’s housing gap has been estimated at 60,000 units, and housing is needed at both large and small scales to fill this gap, noted several speakers.

I attended the opening plenary, in which Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Enterprise Community Partners Vice President Dr. Tiffany Manuel, DU Vice Chancellor David Greenberg, and Wells Fargo Bank Rocky Mountain Region EVP Frank Newman framed the discussion and encouraged innovation. I also attended sessions on mixed-income incentives and small-scale affordability. Here are some of the ideas I heard discussed:

• Mixed-income housing can be a catalytic investment to stabilize a community. Market-rate homes help finance affordable units, and their value is not adversely affected by adjacency with affordable units. Mixed-income development, in fact, is desired by millennials and others as a key factor in creating a diverse, interesting, and equitable urban neighborhood.
• Publicly developed mixed-income projects such as the Denver Housing Authority’s Mariposa in South Lincoln Park and Benedict Park Place in Five Points and privately developed mixed-income projects such as Urban Venture’s Fire Clay Lofts and Aria Denver have provided affordable housing as well as social and economic benefits for neighborhoods.
• Relaxing the rules within existing neighborhoods and developing small-scale housing such as tiny houses in back yards or alley “laneway” houses similar to those allowed in Vancouver could provide more affordable options for renters and income for homeowners.
• Allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as carriage houses and granny flats, now allowed in only 10 percent of Denver’s geographic area, could provide thousands of housing units at a much faster pace than securing multi-acre sites and building larger-scale multifamily affordable housing. At a 10 percent absorption rate, some 21,000 additional housing units could be built if 300 units were built per neighborhood in 70 (less than half) of Denver’s neighborhoods.
• Providing pre-approved prototypes, incentives, and expedited development for ADUs could lessen the burden on homeowners committed to helping build more housing.
• Relaxing ordinances related to the number of unrelated people living together to allow for more co-housing or co-living in existing households could provide more places in which Denverites could live and share expenses and community.
• Many more ideas on housing policies, financing tools, housing preservation, transitioning from homelessness and other topics were discussed and will inform planning efforts such as the Blueprint Denver comprehensive plan update.

ULI-Colorado Executive Director Michael Leccese attended and many local members presented at the forum, including Jesse Adkins and Andre Baros of Shears Adkins Rockmore, Debra Bustos of the Urban Land Conservancy, Chuck Perry of Perry Rose, Sue Powers of Urban Ventures, Christopher Smith of The Colorado Health Foundation, George Thorn of Mile High Development, and Dace West of Mile High Connects. Several forum speakers mentioned the value of ULI advisory groups, technical advisory panels, and other initiatives aimed at providing more affordable housing and economic development in lower-income neighborhoods.

Kathleen McCormick, principal of Fountainhead Communications, LLC, writes frequently about healthy, resilient, and sustainable communities.