By Shawne Ahlenius
Denver is one of just two cities selected to receive $2.25 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to support affordable housing rental preservation for Denver families near mass transit. The funding consists of a $250,000 grant to the City of Denver and $2 million in low-interest loans to Enterprise Community Partners to capitalize the Denver Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). As the Denver metropolitan area undergoes what is considered to be the largest expansion in the nation of a transit system, this new MacArthur Foundation investment will help preserve and create affordable housing within one half mile of rail service and a quarter mile from frequent bus routes.
The TOD Fund seeks to lower the housing and transportation cost burden among Denver families and households. According to a 2006 study by the Center for Housing Policy, Denver working families who earn between $20,000 and $50,000 annually spend 59 percent of gross income on housing and transportation costs combined. The funding will be used to preserve and create at least 1,200 units of affordable for sale and rental housing along Denver mass transit corridors over a ten-year period.
Principal partners and investors of the fund are the City of Denver, Enterprise Community Partners and the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC). Enterprise will serve as fund manager, responsible for managing and servicing the fund and identifying all sources of funding to capitalize the fund. The MacArthur Foundation funding has leveraged additional private investment, with the fund totaling $15 million in pledged investments. Investors include US Bank, Wells Fargo, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Rose Community Foundation and the Mile High Community Loan Fund.
By Jake Flint
Over the past four years, The FAX Partnership www.thefaxpartnership.com has recognized the special community that exists along East Colfax. Significant improvements have occurred during that time, yet it’s widely recognized that Colfax’s business and property owners want and deserve more. To achieve those ends will require more resources than are currently available from one-time grants from foundations and government entities that do not easily allow us to sustain programs over the long-term.
After a good bit of study, the Partnership’s voluntary Board of Directors has determined that to move forward requires new solutions. That’s why the Board is considering the establishment of The FAX Business Improvement District (BID). The BID would run from Colorado Blvd to Quebec St, including the Mayfair Town Center. Funding for various improvement projects would be derived from a special assessment or additional mill levy on business property owners that the BID Board of Directors decide are necessary for the betterment of the district. The Partnership and Board will be working with adjoining neighborhood associations as we consider this idea, and welcome your input For more information please contact Shawne Ahlenius at 720-289-3198 or Jake Flint at 303-321-3212.
