Housing Forward Colorado
A pro-housing, climate-driven project of @sweep2001.bsky.social | housingforwardco.org
- CO renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing‼️ The HOME Act continues our work to build affordable housing in the communities where Coloradans work and live. Join us in telling state lawmakers to vote YES on #HB1001!
- Working Coloradans are forced into long commutes because they can’t afford living in the communities they work in. The HOME Act (HB1001) would create more housing so that: 🩺 Nurses 🍎 Teachers 🚒 Firefighters can afford to live in the communities they support. Tell lawmakers to vote YES on #HB1001!
- New video from Sightline: How bans on smaller elevators block accessible homes. www.sightline.org/2026/01/11/v...
- "How McMansions lured us into an unhappiness trap" -- WSJ on why smaller houses can lead to happier lives: archive.ph/9zDyE
- Props to Pasadena for this great program! www.coloradoboulevard.net/new-pasadena...
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- Build homes in existing communities with roads, schools, and services—or keep paving over farmland and open space? DOLA’s Strategic Growth Report makes a compelling case for infill and compact growth. Read our takeaways:
- Colorado is short 106,000 homes and will add 1.5M people by 2050. The question isn’t whether we grow—it’s how. DOLA’s new report shows smart growth and infill beat sprawl on costs, climate, and resilience. Read our full analysis: housingforwardco.org/colorado-at-...
- Sprawl is more than cookie cutter subdivisions. It drives up housing, energy, and infrastructure costs, emissions, and risk. A new DOLA report compares “business as usual” to smart growth, and the results aren’t even close. We break it down in our latest blog: housingforwardco.org/colorado-at-...
- When you eliminate parking mandates, beautiful patios start sprouting up. A new restaurant is coming to downtown Fort Collins, and they’re replacing the parking lot with outdoor seating! www.coloradoan.com/story/money/...
- "Builders have been constructing bigger and bigger homes during the past half-century. Homes with four or more bedrooms made up nearly half of all new construction in 2022, according to Census Bureau data. That compares with 1 in 5 in the 1970s." How starter homes are disappearing: wapo.st/4prLnEm
- This new study found that 18% of urban and suburban US car owners express a definite interest in living car-free, and an additional 40% are open to the idea -- in addition to the 10% of urban and suburban US residents already living without a car! humantransit.org/2025/12/many...
- Learn how CO's new single-stair reform is enabling an empty parking lot in Denver to become a beautiful apartment building: kgarch.com/reviving-a-f...
- Wildfire risk, intensified by climate change and sprawling development patterns, is driving up home insurance costs in Colorado -- where costs are the 4th highest in the country. Smart growth can help reduce this risk and lower costs! www.denver7.com/news/local-n...
- We love seeing Prop 123 funds in action! Kudos to Colorado Springs for moving fast on this affordable housing project, helping prevent homelessness via a climate-friendly housing type: www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/12/22/a...
- We're delighted that the Denver Downtown Development Authority (DDDA) has approved funding for an office-to-residential conversion of the historic Petroleum Building! This adaptive reuse project will turn 12 floors of vacant office space into 178 new apartments. www.denvergov.org/News-article...
- "The HOME Act...will empower community organizations and schools to build affordable housing on their land that is often underutilized and centrally located." We're excited about this new legislation being proposed in Colorado! www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/12/16/p...
- This @urbaninstitute.bsky.social study found that: - municipalities need grants to fund TOD infrastructure - requirements for TOD need to match the market - affordable housing investments need funding www.urban.org/research/pub...
- "About 82% of respondents supported adding duplexes in low-density neighborhoods that historically have allowed only single-family homes. Roughly 70% backed allowing townhomes and multiplexes with three to six units in those areas." boulderreportinglab.org/2025/12/14/b...
- @ezraklein.bsky.social lays out the argument that we have a nationwide housing shortage on our hands. In Colorado, we're 106k homes short - and counting. What Klein doesn't mention is that we need new housing built in urban areas, where infrastructure already exists. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
- @cocoalition.bsky.social plans to renovate the 216 studios and SRO units it already owns in the Downtown Denver YMCA building-- and build additional homes in the remaining 40k sq ft, turning the building into an affordable housing complex. Love this adaptive reuse! denverite.com/2025/12/01/d...
- "The multigenerational living setup is a dream made possible by the Denver Housing Authority's ADU program." Learn how one family is benefitting: www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...
- Kudos to Brighton for streamlining its accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permitting process by offering pre-approved building designs! Brighton is funding this initiative through a $38k grant from the state's new ADU Grant Program. #HousingPolicy #AccessoryDwellingUnits www.denver7.com/news/local-n...
- Big pro-housing win: Last week, Denver City Council voted to allow five-story single-stair buildings! This design tweak is equally safe from a fire perspective and enables us to fit more homes in a given building -- making them all more affordable! www.coloradopolitics.com/2025/11/24/d...
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- 👏 We applaud the state on launching Housing Hub Colorado: A centralized resource for accessing federal Housing Tax Credits, plus state and local gap funding, to build affordable rental housing. We hope this functions as a streamlined, one-stop-shop for accessing that money! housinghubcolorado.com
- Big congrats to Grand Junction, Superior, Larimer County, Glenwood Springs, Fruita, Brighton, and Longmont on being the first to receive grant money from Colorado's Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Grant Program! www.cpr.org/2025/11/19/c...
- Reposted by Housing Forward ColoradoLakewood Colorado is now a leader in housing reform and legalizing more attainable and affordable homes. When will Denver and other cities across the Front range catch up?
- Single-stair buildings allow for more homes in the same amount of space -- a design tweak that can help us solve the housing shortage. Recognizing these benefits, Denver is going beyond the state requirements to allow more single-stair buildings: archive.is/2025.11.17-1...
- (1/4) Lakewood just adopted one of Colorado’s most significant zoning updates: legalizing middle housing citywide and making room for the kind of compact, affordable homes the city has been missing.
- (2/4) The need was clear: prices up 50% since 2017, over half of renters cost-burdened, and almost all new homes either large detached houses or big apartment buildings. Only 3.4% were 2–4 unit homes, despite nearly ¾ of households being just 1–2 people. housingforwardco.org/a-closer-loo...
- "The burden of soaring housing costs is primarily driven by the fact that the United States does not have enough housing to meet demand." We agree, AND the new construction needs to be where infrastructure already exists! New from CAP: www.americanprogress.org/article/buil...
- Thanks to a recent construction boom, Denver rents are falling -- and that doesn't even include "concessions" from property owners.
- Our latest blog post by HFC lead @mattfrommer.bsky.social and economist Luke Teater crunches the numbers on how housing construction affects low-income renters in #Denver: housingforwardco.org/denvers-hous...
- The business community offers solutions for more housing in #Colorado: faster and easier permitting, public-private partnerships, zoning reforms, and more! tsscolorado.com/affordable-h...
- In the last 2 years, average apartment rents in #Denver have fallen 5.9% -- and 10% for the most affordable segment of the market. The data show that when we build more housing, rents fall the most for households that need the greatest relief. Learn more: housingforwardco.org/denvers-hous...
- City and state leaders who want to improve #HousingAffordability in their communities should take heed: We need sustained housing production to make #Colorado affordable in a permanent way. housingforwardco.org/denvers-hous...
- New from @strongtowns.org: Small, precise zoning code text revisions that can unlock big opportunities for communities facing housing shortages. www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025...
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- Rocky Mt Land Use Institute and @ternerhousing.bsky.social study finds that eliminating #parking mandates will likely boost housing construction in #Denver by about 12.5%, or ~460 more homes per year. A high-impact result for a relatively simple policy change! theconversation.com/denver-study...
- Which housing measures passed in this year's elections? Not comprehensive, but a solid list: shelterforce.org/2025/11/07/w...
- Last Tuesday, pro-housing advocates celebrated numerous victories in local elections across Colorado. The message is clear: Pro-housing platforms win elections. Read our press release for details: housingforwardco.org/housing-news...
- A look at Colorado's population growth vs homebuilding rates -- and how Gov. Polis is working to address the gap: www.realtor.com/advice/hyper...
- Single-stair buildings are a simple design tweak that enable more affordable housing options. Here are some states that have enacted the change: www.pew.org/en/research-...
- Huge congrats to pro-housing organizers for election wins in Centennial, Denver, Englewood, Fort Collins, Lafayette, Littleton, Longmont, Louisville, and more! 🎉🎉
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