SEPTEMBER 2015 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
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between multifamily rental and single-family homes, whose
price tags are either out of reach for most young professionals
or are located in suburban locations that they don’t aspire to
move to until they have families. Condominium construction
is virtually nonexistent, so we have a both an affordability and
housing product gap.
This gap is the result of constrained supply, which increas-
es pricing, and we are simply pricing ourselves out of the af-
fordable range. Key competitors like Dallas, Phoenix and Salt
Lake City have relatively affordable median house prices of
$165K to $175K compared to Denver’s at $330K and an average
home price of $404K. This is a key concern for corporate relo-
cations to Colorado in terms of being an attractive place for
their workforce to live.
The ability to offer our young talent and our retiring baby
boomers a full spectrum of affordable urban and suburban
housing product types is critical to our future. I’m concerned
that without it, we will see impacts on migration to Den-
ver-metro region and an exodus from these two populations
in search of affordable housing opportunities. Lack of housing
affordability will be a headwind to growth – both economic
and population. Loss of population will reduce our tax base
and will impact our ability to attract businesses that seek tal-
ent, all of which could put us at risk in terms of continued
prosperity and also in an economic downturn.
We have an opportunity to look to the future and prevent a
loss of young, educated talent in the next generation by offer-
ing common sense construction defects reforms that would
stimulate condo development as an affordable economic
pathway to home ownership and close the housing gap. Fur-
thermore, focusing that development around transit is “smart
growth” and what was promised to, and endorsed by, the vot-
ers in FasTracks and the expansion of RTD’s light-rail system.
It’s actually the only way that we can prudently manage pop-
ulation growth and preserve our quality of life.
The business and population growth that is going on in
Colorado right now is amazing and it’s enabled us as a region
to achieve what we are today. However, we need to be proac-
tive to solve the housing affordability and options problem
and it requires leadership from the state, cities and regional
leaders – without a collaborative effort, I’m concerned that the
housing affordability and opportunity issue could derail our
positive growth and our regional prosperity. It’s just another
reason why the Metro Mayors Caucus has been unanimously
imploring the state to act on this issue as they know the im-
pact it’s having in their communities now and going forward.
Finally, our first project is a market-rate affordable product
at Alameda Station, known as Denizen. We are currently col-
laborating with Medici Communities to develop a tax credit
affordable product on our mixed-use Bus Barn site, west of
Alameda Station, that will be connected to it via pedestrian
bridge. We would dearly like to be developing condominium
product next for first-time homebuyers, but current legislative
realities make this a challenging proposition.
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Leading the Way
Photo courtesy Saunders Construction
Saunders Construction built the Triangle Building adjacent to Union Station.
