The People’s Mansion in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood opened last year as the city’s first permanently affordable housing co-operative. Affordable housing remains a pressing issue throughout the state. The former school for butlers is seen as a glimmer of hope.
But, People’s Mansion still needs safety upgrades and other renovations before it can welcome more tenants. The property’s owner, the Boulder Housing Coalition is getting state funding to help with those upgrades.
In 2022, voters approved Proposition 123, which redirects 0.1 percent of Colorado’s taxable income to protecting affordable housing.
On Wednesday, nearly $48 million in Proposition 123 Land Banking money was granted to groups to help with the housing. Governor Jared Polis, the Colorado Office of Economic development and international Trade (OEDIT), and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority announced that the funding would be distributed among 21 recipients in various Colorado communities.
The Boulder Housing Coalition received $430,000 towards renovating the People’s Mansion. CEO Lincoln Miller said the project will include a fire suppression system, an additional egress stairwell, and an enclosed stairwell.
“All of these are good protections for fire, but they're quite expensive,” Miller said. “So, the grant from Prop 123 helps us pay for that.”
An accessible ramp, accessibility lift, and accessible bathroom on the first floor will also be added which will cost $1.2 million. There are plans to add eight more units to bring the total to 19 for the mansion. Miller said he’s received a lot of applications to live there. But, he wants to wait until the renovations are complete before accepting new tenants.
“The demand is high, but we're not going to be able to have all those people moving until we've got the rooms built,” Miller said. “It's already habitable for 10 people just as is. But really to go to 19, that's when we need all those upgrades to the safety.”
Miller said the project should be completed later this year.
Colorado voters narrowly approved Proposition 123 during the 2022 election. The measure allows the state to dedicate $300 million a year of existing state revenues to affordable housing.
The first land banking awards were awarded in 2024. Sixteen recipients from across the state were awarded over $25 million.
COEDIT Deputy Director Jeff Kraft said the agency only collected half a year’s worth of tax revenue during that first year. He expects the revenue — and grants — to increase with a full year’s worth of revenue available.
“We had roughly half as much money because we now are getting a full year's worth of revenue in every future year,” Kraft said. “So, there'll be bigger programs with more award capacity to give out over the course of years, like this year and future years.”
OEDIT partners with the Colorado Housing and Financing Authority during the application process which is open to local government, local government affiliated entities, and nonprofits.
Kraft said deciding which applications get approved comes down to considering several things, among them high density housing, mixed income housing, and environmental sustainability.
“This pent up demand and this deficit of housing and housing prices have been pretty expensive in Colorado, and rents have escalated. We know they're a little bit down now,” Kraft said. “But there's just a deficit of available affordable units.”
Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation is one of two Western Slope entities to receive Prop 123 funding. The organization focuses on economic development, but is also trying to address affordable housing issues in Archuleta County which has 16,000 people.
The corporation's Executive Director Emily Lashbrook said the lack of affordable housing has hurt economic development in the county.
“If we want to recruit businesses, we’ve got to have employees for the businesses to hire. And right now we don't have that kind of person,” Lashbrook said. “Well, why don't we? Because there is nowhere for them to live. The inventory is little to none.”
Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation received $200,000 in Prop 123 funding to put toward 11 rentals and homeownership units in the Bonita Drive area. The organization has already built and put up for sale 10 homes at nearby Chris Mountain Two and Trails. It plans to use land banking funding to purchase 11 more lots to build rental projects at Bontia Drive.
“In our housing needs assessment, we saw that there's a huge need for affordable rentals in single family homes,” Lashbrook said. “All of the infrastructure is in that community due to some other grant funding …. So, the roads will be in. The electric will be in. The water and sewer is already there. So, this would be really easy to construct 11 rentals.”
The entire project will cost between $10 to $12 million. It’s expected to have 48 affordable units completed by the project’s end.
Here’s a list of recipients of Proposition 123 Land Banking funds for affordable housing projects:
- Boulder Housing Coalition: 19 rental units for the 1350 N Logan, Denver, $430,000
- Broomfield Housing Alliance: 72 rental units for the 11795 Colmans Way, Broomfield, $3,500,000
- Commerce City Housing Authority: 120 rental and homeownership units for The Foundry, Commerce City, $4,750,000
- Commun Denver: 173 rental and homeownership units for the Loretto Commons, Denver, $2,500,000
- Community Options Inc.: 50 rental units for the TBD Hilltop Apartments, Montrose, $1,250,000
- Elevation Community Land Trust II: 44 homeownership units for the Miners Haus, Golden, $1,400,000
- Fairview Housing Partners Ltd: 144 rental units for the Flats at Sand Creek, Colorado Springs, $4,050,000
- Foothills Regional Housing: 220 rental units for the Ridge Road, Wheat Ridge, $2,100,000
- GES Coalition, Inc.: 60 rental and homeownership units for the Brighton Blvd-GESC, Denver, $3,571,429
- Habitat for Humanity Fort Collins: eight homeownership units for the Bloom Cottages, Fort Collins, $600,000
- Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Inc.: 40 homeownership units for the Calvary Flats Affordable Homes, Golden, $1,200,000
- Habitat for Humanity St. Vrain: 35 homeownership units for the Habitat 15th and Terry Street Neighborhood, Longmont, $1,558,333
- Metro Caring: 139 rental units for the Metro Caring Affordable Housing, Denver, $3,485,000
- Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation: 11 rental and homeownership units for the Affordable Housing Phase 4, Bonita Dr., Pagosa Springs, $200,000
- Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation: 336 rental units for the Bradley Ridge Apartments, Colorado Springs, $4,850,000
- The City of Fruita: 100 rental and homeownership units for The Fruita Commons, Fruita, $1,500,000
- The Inn Between of Longmont: 40 rental units for the 1886 Hover, Longmont, $1,750,000
- The NHP Foundation: 158 rental units for the Liora, Denver, $3,850,000
- Thistle Community Housing: 48 rental and homeownership units for the Fairways Phase II, Boulder, $2,600,000
- Urban Land Conservancy II: 66 rental units for the Liberty House, Denver, $2,450,000
- West Colfax Lampstand: 9 homeownership units for the Flats at Harlan, Lakewood, $400,000
The Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation got the most funding in this round. The Colorado Springs-based nonprofit received $4.85 million toward building a 336-unit affordable housing development near the Colorado Springs Airport and Peak Innovation Park in the southeast part of the city.
Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation Executive Director Samuel Clark said more housing and childcare options are needed due to the growing job centers in the area.
“It means that the person driving the FedEx truck or the person handling luggage, that type of thing, they have an affordable housing opportunity that's amenity rich with a dog run and splash pad and workout room, that type of thing. But it's also something that is at a rent that those incomes can afford,” Clark said.
He said the property will include a six-classroom childcare facility that will cater to working families. Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation has been working with Early Connections and Lincoln Avenue Communities to develop the childcare center.
“They also have to find high quality childcare or early childhood education. And this partnership with Early Connections Learning Center, the Real Estate Foundation, Lincoln Avenue Communities, the developer, allows for those families and the people in the broader community to access that childcare to make sure that while you're at work, your kids are developing and thriving,” Clark said.
Clark hopes to break ground on the project soon. The first phase is expected to begin in 2026.
