CREJ - Building Dialogue - September 2015

Affordable. Housing.

Kris Oppermann Stern, publisher


af·ford·a·ble
adjective /e’fôrdeb(e)l / inexpensive; reasonably priced.

hous·ing
noun / ‘houziNG/ houses and apartments considered collectively

Affordable housing in and around Denver has been a hot topic for a while. Colorado has just about everything necessary to attract a growing population: beautiful weather, interesting architecture, a healthy startup culture, nearby mountains, abundant out door recreation opportunities, a highly educated workforce and more. But housing sticker shock is a reality.

It’s in the news almost daily, whether in the form of construction defects law, or Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s recent announcement that he plans to generate $15 million a year for affordable housing efforts.

Joy Spatz focuses on the housing ladder in her column this month, Leading the Way, in which she interviews John Beeble of Saunders Construction and Chris Waggett of D4 Urban.

Our market is missing affordable housing options in the $200,000 to $250,000 range, according to Beeble. “One of the answers is condos and owned affordable product,” he said. “In the last 10 years, we really haven’t seen any new condo development. This leaves a huge gap in the housing options ladder.” Waggett agrees. “Right now we have lots of rental options for young workers and then nothing 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.”

But housing isn’t only about affordable. It’s also about transit-oriented development and family and urban appeal. Read about Denizen, a new TOD development in the Baker neighborhood that focuses on design, location and amenities. And read about Freight Residences, the latest addition to River North, which is geared toward families looking to capture the Colorado experience, according to architect Stephen Dynia. There’s also a feature on the Turntable Studios project, the conversion of the former VQ hotel into micro apartments, attractive to millennials.

Other features in this issue celebrate the 21st anniversary of design firm Humphries Poli Architects; the return of activity to Colorado Center with the construction of the 15-story Lincoln Towers office building; energy efficiency in the Gilpin project; and a Colorado-led team going international, designing Abu Dhabi’s Mushrif Central Park.

Trends stories range from LEAN construction to fast-fine dining design, and from co-working space to office design details, and more.

And don’t miss the photo spread of the recently completed ART hotel – it’s a beauty.

I invite your participation in future issues as we continue building the dialogue.


Kris Oppermann Stern
Publisher
kostern@crej.com