As if on cue, a city of Denver pickup truck Wednesday rolled on to an empty, city-owned lot to tell a group of people in a homeless encampment they had to pack up their belongings and move to another location within two hours.
The truck arrived during a Rep. Leslie Herod press conference on housing affordability. Herod is running for Denver mayor.
She said she plans to build affordable housing developments in the more than 80 unoccupied city-owned lots. . The lot near the Interstate 25 viaduct over Broadway could be the future home to 500 affordable units under Herod’s plan. Renderings shared at the Wednesday press conference showed a brick building up to four levels high “activating” the Broadway streetscape.
“Just three minutes away is a light rail stop, just 10-12 minutes away is a grocery store and we have a high school not too far from here,” she said. “We’ve been working so much on these projects. Multi-use development could be right here, centered on housing and the needs of people.”
The units she wants to build will remain permanently affordable by leveraging all available dollars for rental assistance in the Department of Housing Stability. Herod will scrutinize operating costs and make sure any increases in rent are “fair and evidence based,” and not just based on market rates, Peter LiFari, the CEO of Maiker Housing Partners, said.
“Leslie’s plan will kick off an urban housing Renaissance, refining what a truly great American city can be,” he said. “Leslie will work collaboratively to create and pass a zoning package that includes building code innovations, moving us towards greater family living.”
Currently, the lot is home to five or six tents erected on the western edge. Emerging from the tents after the city truck rolled through was anywhere between five and six people rummaging through their belongings deciding what to move to their next spot and what to leave behind.
One of those people was Craig Beck, who has been homeless for four years. He was born in Denver and grew up nearby at Virginia Avenue and South Platte River Drive. A self-described “workaholic,” Beck has no ID — it was stolen from him — but members of Herod’s team connected him with resources so he could get a new one. They also connected him with other resources that may help him and his wife, who has been homeless for 14 years, he said.
“This is an avenue that most people don’t get, this is a blessing,” he said. “If I get an ID and my birth certificate, give me a week of working and I can pay for a hotel room week-by-week.”
A hotel room brings stability, Beck said. The lack of stability — being told he has an hour or two to go through all of his belongings and move to a new spot — is one of the biggest barriers for him. Beck and his wife live in the largest of the five or six tents. He was glad to see Herod’s campaign come by and connect him with resources, he said, but almost hid away and sought to avoid them.
For Herod, the idea of stability is critical to her plan, as is building for some of Denver’s most vulnerable residents. Denver Housing Authority officials say the city needs up to 55,000 income-restricted housing units. A study from the Common Sense Institute found Denver needs between 13,000 and 31,000 units. Herod says her plan, using vacated lots, can get the city there quickly.
“We can build those units, 500 units here, 50 units there, 1,000 units down the street, we can build today, and we can build below market,” she said. “Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t.”
The developments will be paid for with municipal bonds and proceeds from Colorado Proposition 123, the State Affordable Housing Fund approved by voters in November, according to a Herod campaign partner. It dedicates one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of state income tax revenue to fund housing programs and up to $200 million could be available, according to a Herod campaign partner.
