One application for affordable housing money: what the state-Denver plan changes, and a $27 million bond on today's agenda
Gov. Jared Polis and Mayor Mike Johnston launched a single application for affordable housing funding on Monday. The same week, a Council committee takes up bonds for a 149-unit building on Fox Street.
Developers who build income-restricted apartments in Denver will soon fill out one application for state and city money instead of several. Gov. Jared Polis and Mayor Mike Johnston announced the change Monday morning at the Mosaic Community Campus, CBS Colorado reported.
Why it matters to residents: affordable apartments are usually paid for with a stack of tax credits, loans and grants from different agencies. Every separate application adds time and cost before a building can open.
What changes
According to the state's announcement, the Housing Hub Colorado Common Application:
- replaces four separate agency applications with one, starting in February 2027, for developers seeking Housing Tax Credits and related gap funding;
- cuts 189 application questions and 34 narrative requirements;
- brings in Denver's Department of Housing Stability (HOST), along with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and two state agencies, and expands a shared document portal to HOST;
- and, by the state's estimate, saves about $20,000 per unit and shortens construction schedules by about four months. Those are the state's figures and have not been independently checked.
Letters of intent for the first round are due Dec. 1, full applications Feb. 1, 2027, and awards are targeted for mid-May 2027, the announcement said. CBS Colorado reported the state believes the change could help it build at least 7,000 homes a year.
What our records add
A 149-unit project is in committee today. The Finance and Business Committee's Oct. 27 agenda includes Council Bill 26-1605, which would let the city issue up to $27 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds for the Link and Pin Apartments at 4187 Fox St. (Legistar, agenda). The city's request says the project would use up to $19.4 million of Denver's private activity bond allocation. It lists the planned mix of rent limits by area median income (AMI):
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- 30 units at 30% AMI
- 67 units at 60% AMI
- 14 units at 70% AMI
- 38 units at 80% AMI
Why bonds unlock tax credits. At a Sept. 1 committee briefing, HOST Executive Director Cole Chandler said the city's main tool is gap financing, and that it also allocates private activity bonds to help projects get 4% federal housing tax credits (video at 1:03:05). The same briefing showed HOST's 2027 goal of at least 930 newly developed units (video at 1:03:00).
Red tape has come up before. At a July 21 committee meeting, HOST described work with other agencies and partners on cutting red tape so more affordable units can be delivered by 2028 (video at 12:44).
Another housing item is on the same agenda. The committee also takes up a $6 million downtown loan for senior apartments in the Barth Hotel, 26-1608. Our earlier story explains it.
What's next
- Oct. 27: Finance and Business Committee hears 26-1605 (agenda).
- Nov. 3, 9 and 16: The city's request lays out a Mayor-Council review on Nov. 3, first reading at Council on Nov. 9 and a final vote on Nov. 16.
- Dec. 1: Letters of intent due for the first round under the common application, per the state.