Denver marijuana buyers would help pay for an expansion of the city’s 10-year, $150 million affordable housing fund under a plan that includes borrowing to amp up apartment production.
If approved, the proposal would boost the city’s shorter-term plan — to subsidize the building or preservation of 3,000 income-restricted apartments and other housing units in the next five years — to 6,400.
Mayor Michael Hancock and other city officials have been under pressure from City Council members and affordable housing advocates for more than a year to bolster the city’s commitment to addressing Denver’s housing crisis, and they unveiled their plan Monday. If key components win council approval this summer, the city would double an annual $15 million commitment that began last year, and it would partner with the Denver Housing Authority to issue $105 million in bonds to subsidize affordable housing projects and acquire new land across the city for income-qualified housing.
The property-buying spree could expand the pipeline of affordable housing projects planned by private developers by supplying them with land.
Leaders of All In Denver, a group of housing advocates, developers and residents, have pushed for the city to step up its public investment by commissioning polls and floating proposals. [Read more at The Denver Post]
