More than 15,000 children currently experience homelessness in the Denver metro area, and a new development led by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and the Denver Housing Authority will create up to 135 new income-restricted housing units on Federal Boulevard just south of Interstate 70 near Rocky Mountain Lake Park.

Cathy Alderman, the coalition's chief communications and public policy officer, said the goal is to create homes that are a good fit for low-income families with children "with the hope of adding child-care services on site. The location is really ideal for kids because it’s so close to the park and there are some great schools in the area."

Plans include large housing units, playground areas, a community space and other family-centered amenities.

Alderman noted that when children experience housing instability, there are long-lasting impacts on their educational attainment, health and economic opportunities. She said the new community-focused development will help make Denver affordable for the children who need it most.

The city of Denver bought the property on Federal during the height of the COVID public-health emergency in 2020, and is offering a long-term lease to keep rents permanently affordable. Alderman said what low-income workers can afford to pay isn’t enough to finance housing developments without support from agencies such as the Denver Housing Authority that prioritize serving low-income families.

"We share that mission of trying to bring housing to those households with the greatest need who the market just, frankly, is not going to serve," she said. "We’ve developed multiple properties with DHA in the past and just find that they’re a really great partner."

There are currently only 27 affordable housing units for every 100 low-wage Colorado households, according to a new report. Three in four renters are forced to spend more than half of their income on housing, which Alderman noted puts families at risk of entering the cycle of homelessness. But she said spending public funds to develop housing for upper-middle or middle-class families will not resolve the housing crisis.

"We need to be using resources and crafting policies that really direct public resources towards building, developing and preserving our stock of affordable housing for those lowest-income households," she said.

Source: Public News Service