affordable housingDenver City Council approves affordable housing fund.  Currently, Denver is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation.  The large growth in the city has caused a housing shortage and an increase in the cost of rent.  So the City of Denver has made a move to make affordable housing available with a ten year plan.

The plan to fund the program will be an increase in property taxes of approximately $12 on average per household and up to a $1.70 per square foot of a new development.  The fund will have about $150 million available over the next ten years with the plan to have 6,000 new affordable residents offered.

There are mixed comments on the program.  Some residents say that it isn’t enough, there are 80,000 residents waiting for affordable housing.  Property owners and developers are concerned about the increase in taxes and cost per square foot of a development.

What does this mean for Design Professionals in the community?  At this point it is difficult to know the long term effects but it is important to note that developers are now looking for ways to cut costs on projects.  With that, Design Professionals should be wary of where and how the costs will be cut to avoid any future Professional Liability claims.  Additionally, with the largest city in Colorado making this move it is possible that other Denver metro cities will also look at the same measures.

Below are a few articles from local news stations that discuss the housing fund:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/denver-city-council-approves-citys-first-affordable-housing-fund

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/09/20/denver-city-council-approves-affordable-housing-funds/

As always, your PUI Agency is here to help and answer questions please call or email with any questions.