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Page 12 — Property Management Quarterly — April 2017
Community Spotlight
C onsistently ranked one of the
country’s top economies and
places to live, Denver and
the metro region have long
been sought-after destina-
tions in theWest. It’s where young
people are moving, the culture scene
is vibrant, jobs are available and busi-
ness is booming. Nearly 4,500 people
are moving to the Denver metro area
each month.
In Denver’s prospering economy,
with low unemployment and high
workforce participation, hous-
ing demand is quickly outpacing
housing supply, especially afford-
able housing. For young families
and single millennials with annual
incomes of $44,000 to $52,000, or
80 percent of area median income,
the demand for affordable starter
homes has reduced the city’s home-
ownership and rental inventory
to a record low. And as the service
and construction sectors expand to
support the demands of a growing
population, entry-levels jobs paying
entry-level wages have spiked the
demand for housing affordable for
people earning $24,000 to $32,000
annually, or 30 percent of the AMI,
and below.
What this means is many who
come to this great city and our
region seeking entry-level employ-
ment opportunities are unable
to find housing and are instead
accepting the offer of shelter from
our network of providers.
The demand for
shelter, over recent
years, has grown
in numbers and
in the diversity of
people accessing
the system. Our
mission-driven
shelter providers
are serving the
chronically home-
less and people
with substance
abuse and men-
tal health chal-
lenges. What you may not know is
that approximately 30 percent of
people served by our shelters are
people who work, sometimes mul-
tiple jobs, but are unable to afford
or find housing. Our providers also
are sheltering our seniors on fixed
incomes, our disabled and our immi-
grants seeking the American Dream.
The diversity of individuals and
families accepting shelter, coupled
with the lack affordable housing
options, must be met by a diversity
of responses.
The city remains squarely focused
on taking a comprehensive and stra-
tegic approach to expanding afford-
able housing options and integrated
support services.
To address the diversity of afford-
able housing needs, in partnership
with Denver Council President Albus
Brooks and Councilwoman Robin
Kniech, we established Denver’s first
dedicated Affordable Housing Fund.
The fund, representing a $150 mil-
lion investment in housing over 10
years, will aim to create 6,000 afford-
able homes in the next decade.
The investments will span across
the scale of affordability and be
strategically leveraged with fund-
ing provided by the Denver Housing
Authority, the Colorado Department
of Local Affairs, the Colorado Hous-
ing and Finance Corp., foundations
and neighborhood development
collaborators. Together, the collec-
tive investments will make lasting
changes for people who need hous-
ing in Denver. Supportive housing
options integrated with services
will help people bridge the transi-
tion from shelter to an apartment;
mixed-use housing can support our
artist community; and affordable
housing for our workforce of retail
workers, builders, teachers and oth-
ers are a few ways we will create a
diversity of housing options to meet
the diversity of needs.
To support and focus this work, we
created the Office of Housing and
Opportunities for People Everywhere
to bring together a diverse group of
city programs across the spectrum
of need for affordable housing, ser-
vices and training opportunities
providing options for those experi-
encing substance abuse and mental
health challenges; those seeking
training to boost job eligibility and
raise their incomes; and those in
search of financial literacy and sup-
port to buy their first home or seek-
ing to remain in their homes. And
we’ve brought on Erik Soliván, from
the Philadelphia Housing Authority,
to help lead these efforts.
Soliván and the Office of HOPE
currently are listening and work-
ing collaboratively with advocates,
regional partners, businesses, com-
munity groups and the diverse
group of city programs to identify
short-term actions. The initiatives
will be executed in a three- to eight-
month timeframe and are small but
important steps and policy consid-
erations that will build sustainable
collaborations across the diversity
of city programs, and with partners
and stakeholders across the scale of
housing affordability.
The need for affordable housing
spans the economic scale, as well
as city boundaries. Soliván, as one
of the many new residents in this
great city and region, has a keen
understanding of the challenges
ahead and the opportunities to work
with residents and property own-
ers to approach this issue with a
diverse set of views and ideas. The
diversity of need requires a diversity
of responses, and I welcome your
thoughts on short-term actions
we can take together to address
our immediate needs, and expand
housing affordability and opportu-
nities for individuals, families and
people everywhere. s
First-Class
Service
For All Properties
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tenants—deserve the services and programs typically provided to only
high-end properties. All Elkco clients receive exclusive access to software
that handles online payments and leasing agreements, tenant screening,
social media advertising, rent comparisons, and ratio utility billing
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Contact Ken Cilia at 303.778.0380 today and learn how our top-of-the-line
service can help you increase your cash flow and decrease your turnover.
Michael B.
Hancock
Mayor, Denver